RELATION OF WING SITRFACE TO WEIGHT. 



By K. VON Lkndenfeld." 



Successive investigators, myself among them, have studied the 

 comparative relation between the weight and the dimensions of fl,y- 

 ing animals, with special reference to the extent of wing surface. 

 Some hundred species of bats, birds, and flying insects have been 

 examined in this way, the results of these researches being given 

 in the following table, in which the animals are arranged according 

 to weight of body. 



Animal. 



Weight. 



Wing sur- 

 face. 



Wing 

 surface 

 to 1 gram 

 weight. 



Albatross (Diomedea e.ndaiis) 



Bustard (Otis farda) 



Sea eagle (Halicetus aWiciUa ) 



Stork iCiconia alba) - _ 



Flying fox { Pferopus edulis) 



Pheasant (Phcisianns colchicus) 



Herring gull ( Larxis aroen tatus] I 1 , 



Crow (Corvus corni.r) 



Partrirlge {Perdix cinerea) 



Dove, pigeon ( Columba livia) 



Sparrow hawk (Falco tinnuncidua) 



Laughing gull {Larus ridibundus) 



Thrush (Turdus pilaris) 



Swift {Cypselus apus) 



Sparrow (Passer domesiicus) 



Swallow [Hirundo rustica) 



Titmouse {Parus major) __ 



Small bat ( Vespertilio pipistrellus) 



Sphinx moth (Sjihinx Ugustri) 



Flatbellied dragonfly (Libellula depressa) _ _ 



Bumblebee (BomhKs pratoruvi) 



Swallowtailed butterfly {Papilio podalirius) 



Maiden dragonfly ( Calopteryx virgo) 



Cabbage butterfly ( Pier is brassicce) 



Honeybee (Ajjis melUfica) 



House fly (Miisca domestica) 



Gnat ( Cxdex pipiens) 



rams. 



OOf) 



600 



000 



26.5 



380 



000 



oa5 



595 

 320 

 393 

 260 

 197 

 100 

 33.5 

 28 

 18 



14.5 



3.7 



1.92 



.6 



.44 



.34 



.074 



.01 



.003 



Sq, cm. 



8,000 



5,937 



7,937 



4,506 



1,630 



880 



2,380 



1,286 



336 



608 



680 



662 



186 



144 



76 



110 



62 



50 



18.64 



13.3 



1.03 



11.2 



13.94 



9.28 



.39 



.18 



.3 



Sq. mm. 

 67 

 62 

 IfiO 

 199 

 118 

 88 



2:^1 



216 

 105 

 207 

 261 

 :iS6 

 186 

 430 

 200 

 611 

 427 



l,a51 

 971 



2,216 

 234 



3,394 



6,970 



11,600 



628 



1 , 800 

 10,000 



It is seen from the foregoing table that the relation of the extent 

 of wing surface to the weight of body is not uniform, as might have 

 been expected, but exceedingly variable For instance, to 1 gram of 

 weight the bustard has 62 mm- of wing surface, while the cabbage but- 



« Translated from Naturwissenschaftliche Woclienschrift, November 20, 1904. 



127 



