How Do Birds Fly

Bird flight mechanism

Birds possess the skill of flying in the air, a job that includes the bird resisting four forces it is exposed to (lifting, pushing, pulling, and weight), and what enables it to do so is to follow a three-stage flight mechanism, which the bird instinctively follows so that it can take off, fly and land.

How to get off the ground

Birds begin the flight process by trying to take off from the ground, and the way birds follow to take off differs from one type to another; some run towards the wind, others jump from high places and cliffs, and in both ways the bird’s body will rush with the direction of the air; Air rushes under the wing to help it lift off the ground.

Because of the different characteristics and types of birds , some of them are able to rise straight from the ground from a sitting position without having to jump. This is because it has very strong wing beats like a hummingbird, and some birds can jump from their place and fly. This is because they have strong legs that help them to do so.

Bernoulli effect

The take-off of the bird is explained physically by the latter generating a thrust that works to resist the force of its weight directed with the gravity of the earth downward, which is called the lifting force that is equal to or greater than the weight of the bird, and the shape of the wing helps to take off, as the birds have curved wings ; The distance above the wing is greater than at the bottom.

When the bird tries to rush, the air moves below and above its wing by the same amount, and then the speed of moving the air under the wing must be faster than moving above it in order to be able to cover the greater distance. The air pressure at the top is greater, which generates force due to the pressure difference at the top and bottom of the wing, which is the thrust force, and this is what is called the Bernoulli effect.

How to fly in the air

After the bird takes off from the ground, it must remain in the air and fly, and in order to be able to do so, it takes two main steps:

levitation

The bird is exposed in the air to various forces that it benefits from in order to maintain its height in the sky, including thermal air currents, which are ascending and help light objects. Such as the weight of the bird and air currents bouncing off various objects such as slopes or buildings. These fast currents help the bird to fly, in addition to the moving air currents below and above the bird’s wing.

palpitations

or flapping the wings with an up-and-down movement, which helps the bird to rush forward, because the entire length of the wing is at the right angle; It causes the wings to curl – with each stroke – downward, just as the flapping of the bird’s wing deflects the direction of the air down and behind the bird’s body. This reduces the flight angle deviation.

How to land on the ground

Birds are able to land safely by changing the angle of the wing to turn more towards the top, which reduces its speed, and to slow the rush of the bird’s body forward, the latter increases the drag force, and reduces the lifting force to direct the movement of the body down.

Some birds extend their feet and open their wings fully to increase the downward pull, while others bend their feet under their belly feathers to increase this force.

Adaptations that help birds fly

Among the most important manifestations of kindness that help birds to fly:

Light and strong bones

Birds have strong and hollow bones, which makes them light in weight and makes it easier for them to fly.

Wings covered with feathers

The wings of birds are covered with feathers that protect the wing and help it flatten during flight, and the feathers are light in weight, which reduces the downward drag and weight force.

The wing bones are small

Although the wings of birds are large, their bones are small compared to their size, which makes them light in weight.

Strong and efficient lung

The lungs of birds are characterized by their efficiency in obtaining oxygen, which helps the bird not to feel tired while flying long distances.

The lungs of birds are also distinguished as being flat and based on the back ribs, and a large amount of air does not accumulate in them. When the air flows through the lungs of the bird, it reaches large balloon-like air sacs located in the lower abdomen, located behind its center of gravity, and when it breathes, the air will flow through different passages.

A light beak instead of teeth and nose

The jaw and heavy bony teeth of birds have been replaced by a beak with a light weight, which reduces the strength of weight, and gizzards in their stomachs are used to grind food, and the nose is not present to reduce weight; The bird breathes through holes in the beak.

Solid skeleton

Birds need a solid skeleton in order to be able to carry strong flight muscles, which help in generating the bird’s thrust.

Streamlined body

The shape of the bird’s body is characterized by its smoothness, which reduces the drag force, as the center of gravity of the bird is the center of its balance and is in the middle of its body; The bird’s body is light from the front and the back, and this prevents its body from twisting during its flight and turning over.

Absence of the urinary bladder

The bird gets rid of urine directly from its body without the need for a urinary bladder that increases its weight and impedes its flight.

Eat high energy food

Birds feed on foods full of calories necessary to obtain the energy needed to fly, such as seeds and fruits, and the nature of the foods they eat does not need a long time to digest so that the stomach remains empty and light in flight.

Reproduction by eggs

Instead of embryos growing inside their mother’s stomachs and increasing the weight of the bird and hindering it during its flight, the birds reproduce with eggs.

The importance of flying for birds

Flying is beneficial to birds for several reasons, through which they can:

Finding its food and prey more easily.
Escape when you are attacked by other animals that you are trying to hunt.
Enabling them to migrate, and the migration of birds is for various reasons, the most prominent of which is the transition from very cold weather during the winter season to warmer regions