Blue-footed boobies, like many other seabirds, climb to a particular altitude before folding their wings and diving head-first into the water. This acrobatic feat balances the bird’s force of impact Keep reading
Tag: birds
Sandgrouse Soak in Water
Desert-dwelling sandgrouse resemble pigeons or doves, but they have a very different superpower: males can soak in and hold 25 milliliters of water in their feathers, which they carry tens Keep reading
Seashore Hunting
Watch sea gulls, plovers, and other birds hunt in the tidal zone, and you may notice them stepping over and over in the same spot. This is part of bird’s Keep reading
Bird Photographer of the Year 2022
Try as we might, humans cannot understand fluid dynamics as birds do. Whether they are primarily flyers or swimmers, birds have an innate understanding of lift and other aerodynamic forces Keep reading
Perching Aerodynamics
When birds come in for a landing, they pitch back and heave their wings as they come to a stop in a perching maneuver. Some birds, researchers noticed, partially fold Keep reading
Portraits of Flight
During lockdown, photographer Doris Mitsch turned her eyes to the sky and began capturing these mesmerizing composite images of animals in flight. Vultures, crows, starlings, gulls, and bats all feature Keep reading
“In Flight”
Photographer Mark Harvey captured these stunning portraits of birds in flight. From acrobatic songbirds to soaring raptors, the images show the incredible morphology of a bird’s wing during flight. Most Keep reading
Swimming in Line
When swimming in open waters, it pays to keep your ducks (or your goslings!) in a row. A recent study examined the waves generated behind adult water fowl and found Keep reading
Starlings Over Rome
Each winter millions of starlings migrate to Rome, where they form enormous murmurations in the sky above. The ephemeral and amorphous displays are driven by each bird responding to its Keep reading
Whiffling Geese
This wild photograph shows a goose flying upside down with its head turned 180 degrees in a behavior known as whiffling. In this orientation, the bird’s typical lift characteristics are Keep reading