Bird Notes & News 



ISSUED QUARTERLY BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY 

 :: :: FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS :: 



Vol. VII. ] 



SUMMER, 1916. 



[No. 2. 



The Bird as a Flying Machine. 



The following extracts are taken from the 

 Essay on " The Flight of Birds," by G. V. 

 Webster, Eton, which was awarded the 

 Silver Medal in the Society's Public School 

 Essay Competition, 1915. 



The bird is a perfect flying machine. The 

 shape of the body is calculated to offer little 

 resistance to the air, the curve of the wings 

 from front to back is almost mathematically 

 perfect for giving lifting power. The curve 

 has the further advantage of adapting itself 

 to the pace of the bird, for the faster the bird 

 travels the more the feathers bend, giving 

 the slighter ciu've which aviators find neces- 

 sary on high-speed machines. Aviators have 

 also found that an upward incline of their 

 planes is productive of greater stability. 

 Many birds have found this also, for when 

 flying the tips of the primaries bend slightly 

 upwards. This is specially noticeable in the 

 Rook. 



Lateral stability is ensured by the flexi- 

 bility of the flight feathers. Equilibrium is 

 also obtained when necessary by the bird 

 giving more powerful strokes with one wing 

 than with the other. This is very difficult 

 to see ; the best instance I know of is that 

 of the Lapwing when disturbed from her nest. 



Fore and aft balance is obtained by the tail, 

 or, as in the case of Herons, Waders, etc., 

 which have small tails, by the legs and neck. 

 In Ducks, Guillemots, etc., the webbed feet, 

 which although not long are fairly heavy, 

 and the long neck, are the balancers. It can 

 be noted that all long-legged birds have long 

 necks and short tails. Web-footed birds 

 have short tails, with few exceptions (e.g. 

 Terns). Birds with tails that are broad as 

 well as long, such as Hawks and Pigeons, are 

 remarkably clever at manipulating them. 

 They can spread them, raise or lower them, 

 with great rapidity. If a Swallow is watched 



on the wing, the use of the tail for raising or 

 lowering the bird and for checking its flight 

 can be clearly seen. If a bird is perched on 

 a bush or wire in a fairly high wind, the tail 

 can be seen constantly at work to help the 

 bird to keep his balance. In the case of 

 long-legged and long-necked birds, a very 

 slight bending or dropping of the legs, or 

 movement of the neck, would be sufficient 

 to correct the balance. 



It is interesting to note that short-legged 

 birds, Finches and Crows, usually fold their 

 legs up imder them, while long-legged and 

 web-footed birds stretch their legs straight 

 out behind them. Further, the Waders, 

 Ducks, and Flamingoes carry their necks 

 straight out, while the Herons usually carry 

 theirs bent up, except when rising. The 

 Heron's body is very small and light com- 

 pared with the size of the neck and wings ; 

 to hold his neck out would probably upset 

 his balance. 



Stakting. 



The perching birds when sitting on a bush, 

 take a leap into the air and then spread their 

 wings. They do the same when on the 

 ground. They are gifted with good strong 

 legs which lift their bodies easily into the air. 

 Anyone who has witnessed the attempts of a 

 " winged " Partridge or Pheasant to rise 

 from the ground can gather some idea of the 

 strength of a bird's legs. The Hawks, Owls, 

 Pigeons, game-birds, and Ducks also make 

 use of this " jmnp start." 



The Waders, particularly those which 

 inhabit ditches, such as the Redshank, get 

 under weigh in the same manner. I have 

 noticed another method employed by Waders, 

 especially the shore-frequenting species, and 

 the Gulls. The birds stretch their wings and 

 rim along the ground, always facing the wind ; 

 in this way they are soon lifted. This form 

 of starting, which I call the " aeroplane start," 



