Friday 17 October 2014

How Birds Weather Turbulence

image credit: Sergey Pisarevskiy

When a bird hits turbulence while flying, it can't turn on the 'fasten seatbelt' sign. Instead, new research shows that it tucks its wings to stabilize its flight.

Scientists were studying the flight of a captive Eurasian steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) when they noticed a curious behavior. While soaring, the bird would often briefly fold its wings before resuming its normal flight.

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