How do birds stand up? A comparative biomechanical analysis

Animals not only need to walk and run but also lie prone to rest, and then stand up,
involving near-maximal excursions of limb joints. This vital behaviour is little-studied
outside of humans, but is a likely biomechanical constraint on limb design because it
should require large length changes and force production from muscles, along with
possibly high bone stresses. This project would augment existing experimental data,
for 5 bird species from small to large size, with computer simulations and tissue
material testing in order to test if larger birds experience greater constraints on the
ability to stand up.