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The wing’s shape is such that it can push effectively against the air, and also generate lift as it moves forwards, but that is no use without a very powerful downstroke to capture the air in the first place, and this is where muscular strength comes in.
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The wrist and ‘hand’ of a bird contain far fewer bones than those of mammals and reptiles.
Through the evolutionary process that transformed a foreleg into a wing, some of the original bones have been lost, and others fused together.
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The lives of most flying birds are fast-paced and make tremendous physical demands upon them.
A robust framework is essential, but the bird skeleton also needs flexibility and to be light enough for flight.
Comments closedBirds are all that remain today of the dinosaurs.
The history of their emergence from the mighty theropod dinosaur lineage is told through millennia of fossils, and evidence of this ancestry is apparent in their living bodies today.
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Waterbirds approaching (or departing from) their liquid runways offer much more rewarding viewing than does any airport.
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The almost-set sun obligingly accentuated our hero’s breast feathers, as s/he and I looked directly at each other.
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Q: Are bills and beaks different, and if so, how are they different?
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According to numerous sources, no other living bird has a bigger bill than the Australian Pelican’s.
Comments closedIf you did not already know what this chick looks like, you would likely find it difficult to guess what is its particular (common) species.
If a magician were to combine and animate a mangled wire bush, an old and charred small Banksia spike, a dash of cotton wool and an overripe cherry tomato, the result would likely resemble this post’s critter.
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Not every predatory stalker relies on cover and/or camouflage.
Today’s very elegant hunter is easily seen, even by inattentive humans.
A Great Egret relies on stillness and focus…and the very sudden deployment of his/her neck, head and beak.
An egret’s “lethal end” is analogous to a speargun.
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