How Birds Soar

How Dirds Lour Birds have adapted to become optimally efficient at flying and soaring. Everything about their body is crafted down to minute details for this task. Our own bodies bear little resemblance, requiring complex machinery to leave terra firma. So how are birds designed for flight? key features of the body: Strong feathers Feathers are pitted in the bone for durability Feather shapes and organization Hollow bones Only necessary organs Powerfui wing muscles are attached to the keel-shaped sternum This is a strong anchor for the muscles No teeth or nose to weight down head Bird lungs are External gestation small but quick of young Tail and wing bones are short for acute strength distribution Birds are streamlined to be lightweight at all times. types of wings: Ostriches are as large as eight feet tall High aspect ratio wing Much longer than wide. Lats of vertical lift. Not much slotting. Short-term soaring. Albatros and gulls. Elliptical wing Even pressure on surface. Birds that live in forests. Good mobility. Sparrow-like birdş. High speed wing Narrow with sharp tip. Reduce drág. Forward thrust for extreme speed. Falcons. High lift wing Maximum slotting for massive wing volume. Captures lots of air. Eagles, vultures, - * hawks, etc. Hummingbirds are as small as Bird wing shape represents an "air foil" two inches Wind flows fast over the top of the wing This difference in flow over the same object creates "lift" Wind fiows slow over the bottom 85 species of bird have The beating of the wing increases this aspect ratio drasticaily thus permitting rapid ascent. gone extinct since the 1600s Birds of Prey Don't Just Fly-- they sóar Enhanced vision to both Thick retinas that can quickly ådjust distance petception infrared and ultraviolet light Peripheral sensitivity for reaction time Binocular vision for judging distance Expends little energy for prolonged flight Many birds hearts beat 400 times a minute How does it work? Aim for the right direction and soar! Updrafts or rising air help heavy birds with lift Travel from. one updraft to another Arctic Terns may fly +11,000 miles in one direction for migration Getting down: Pull back wings to vertical position Flap wings This increases drag to heavy levels acting as brakes This is important for heavy birds like eagles, vultures, cranes, etc. If they didn't slow down before landing they could get hurt. Small birds like chickadees can land without braking. At long last. the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow is: 11 meters per second, or 24 mph SOURCES http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/raptors/senses.htm http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biodiversity/birds/aviantopics/avianflightandlocomotion.html http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/FlightLesson.html http://www.natureskills.com/birds/bird-wings/ http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/bird.aspx http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c-15+1794&aid-179 http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/challenge/flights-of-fancy/flight-facts/ http://www.commonswift.org/records_english.html http://style.org/unladenswallow/