Anatomy 6 - Wings

One preconception I've had to fly from is the idea that birds paddle themselves aloft on fixed wings that somehow get them places by vigorous flapping up and down.

Eastern Mockingbird

Just as we had to see past the tempting simplicity that the earth is flat, so too do we marvel at the curving intricacies of wing strokes with many parts performing dynamically and interdependently at the will of the bird.

Blue Jay

For one thing, birds fly not so much by pushing air down to the rear as by stroking forward to take advantage of lift coming from air passing over the curved upper surfaces of the wings.

Great Egret, Folly Cove

With its huge wings and light body this egret rises effortlessly by stretching its wings out to the breeze.

Turkey Vulture, perched on grout pile

That's why heavier birds like to land on a promontory where air currents are available to help them take off again.

Turkey Vulture rising

They fall off into space, allowing the passing air to create lift, and slowly flap away.

Black Vulture

Soaring birds take advantage of the energy of rising air thermals and guidance control from individually operated feathers. Buteos, the broad-winged class of hawks and eagles, hunt in this way, often from great heights.

Cooper's Hawk

The accipiter class of hawks with narrower wings and long tails are more apt to hunt from a perch, pursuing prey with powerful wing strokes and maneuverability through woodlands.

Sanderlings

The characteristically long narrow wings of shorebirds give them the ability to react quickly to breaking waves, and to fly in tight flock formations.

Northern Gannets

High aspect ratios - measured by dividing a wing's length by its breadth - equip some seabirds to glide long distances without flapping and fly actually into strong winds by dynamic soaring, a flight method well worth looking up as a natural wonder initially counter-intuitive, eventually a wonder-inducing harnessing of everyday physics.

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering

Of course the ultimate bender of physical limits is the hummingbird which can fly with its body in a vertical position by shifting its wings and consuming a high-energy diet. Every detail of its flight effort coordinates an anatomy unique in the animal world.