(Volantes), carinate (flying) birds, a subclass of birds.

The Carinatae are counterposed to the ratite, or running, birds and the penguins. The overwhelming majority of bird species— over 8,550 species out of 8,600—belong to the Carinatae. Along the breastbone there is a bony ridge, or keel, to which the muscles that set the wings in motion are attached. The majority of Carinatae are capable of flight; only a few species, such as certain rails, have lost the capacity. The remiges and, as a rule, the rectrices are well developed in Carinatae. The name “Carinatae” is little used in present-day taxonomy.