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Bird flight is the primary mode of locomotion used by most bird species in which birds take off and fly. Flight assists birds with feeding, breeding , avoiding predators , and migrating . Bird flight includes multiple types of motion, including hovering, taking off, and landing, involving many complex movements.
Bird Image Species Family Maximum height Details Rüppell's vulture: Gyps rueppellii: Accipitridae: 11,300 metres (37,100 feet). [1] [2] Vultures use their excellent eyesight to scan the landscape below from a relatively static aerial position. Instead of flying over a larger distance, they use elevation to expand their field of vision. [3]
Birds (flying, soaring) – Most of the approximately 10,000 living species can fly (flightless birds are the exception). Bird flight is one of the most studied forms of aerial locomotion in animals. See List of soaring birds for birds that can soar as well as fly. Townsends's big-eared bat, (Corynorhinus townsendii) displaying the "hand wing"
This flight arrangement might benefit the bird's control and maneuverability in the air. [12] The swiftlets or cave swiftlets have developed a form of echolocation for navigating through dark cave systems where they roost. [13] One species, the Three-toed swiftlet, has recently been found to use this navigation at night outside its cave roost too.
Wing shape and size generally determine a bird's flight style and performance; many birds combine powered, flapping flight with less energy-intensive soaring flight. About 60 extant bird species are flightless , as were many extinct birds. [ 141 ]
Crested caracara, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge Crested caracara (C. plancus) in flight Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae.They are traditionally placed in subfamily Polyborinae with the forest falcons, [1] but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily, Caracarinae, [2] or classified as members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae. [3]
Eurasian cranes in a V formation (video) Birds flying in V formation. A V formation is a symmetric V- or chevron-shaped flight formation.In nature, it occurs among geese, swans, ducks, and other migratory birds, improving their energy efficiency, while in human aviation, it is used mostly in military aviation, air shows, and occasionally commercial aviation.
In nature, birds of the same species in flight often form homogeneous groups for various reasons, such as to defend against predators. This behavior of birds has been observed by people since time immemorial, and is the source of the idiom ("of a feather" means "of the same plumage," that is, of the same species).