Why Do birds fly?
Birds are ready to fly at any moment in order to escape from predators or to catch prey.
It is essential for them to preen their feathers in order to also remove mites, ticks, and other parasites.
Q. How does a bird fly forward by moving its wings up and down?
A: Birds have feathers on their wings, called “primary feathers,” which help them fly forward. Primary feathers have a difference in width on the right side and the left side of the shaft; the narrow side is the front and the wide side is the back. Since airflow is pushed toward the back by the wide side when the wings flap downward, thrust is created, enabling the bird to fly forward.
If you find a primary feather, try an experiment with your family or friends. Two people stand facing each other, and one person holds both hands up with their palms facing. The other person holds the feather horizontally pointing outward, and with a movement like waving a palm fan, brings the feather straight down between their partner’s hands. The person with their hands held up should feel the airflow from the wide side of the feather. The larger the primary feather is the easier it is to do. (Remember to wash your hands with soap after handling bird feathers!)
Q. How do birds care for their feathers?
A: Birds are ready to fly at any moment in order to escape from predators or to catch prey. It is essential for them to preen their feathers in order to also remove mites, ticks, and other parasites.
Birds are often seen “bathing.” Many birds take a quick bath in shallow water, such as a puddle, by rustling their feathers a few times. (It’s such a short time that people who just take a quick shower, are often said to “take a bird bath.”)
Swallows bathe while flying, and Brown-eared Bulbuls and Common Kingfishers bathe by diving into water. If you see a bird bathing, watch as it shakes the water off after coming out and then repositions its feathers with its bill.
Some birds, such as chickens and the Eurasian Skylark, take a “dust bath” instead of bathing in water. There are also birds that spread their wings wide to “sunbathe,” and others that take a “heat bath” by sitting on the hot ground. Some birds such as crows take an ant in their bill and rub it along their wings for an “ant bath,” while other birds have been observed taking a “smoke bath,” flying through wafting chimney smoke. It seems that sparrows often like to take a dust bath after having a water bath.
why do some birds fly in a V formation?
The most accepted theory is that the formation of a flock influences aerodynamics. That means the birds take this formation because it makes it easier for them to fly. As the birds flap their wings, the air flowing off their wingtips gives birds in the back of the V an extra lift.
- source: https://global.canon/en/environment/bird-branch/bird-column/kids2/
