Abstract
THE circling, soaring flight of birds on stiff, outspread wings appears to me a much more complex problem, and less easy of explanation, than that of motionless hovering (poising) At the same time it has certain definite and characteristic fea tures, which must depend upon and connote certain definite aërial conditions, and which should therefore afford us so many hints toward the solution. The whole phenomenon has been very clearly described in NATURE (vol. xxiii. p. 10) by Mr. S. E. Peal, who appears to have had grand opportunities of observing it at Sapakati in Assam. [The explanation which he gives is, however, insufficient, because he does not show how the bird in falling with the wind can acquire greater “impetus” relative to the air than it would if the air were still. But such greater “impetus” is necessary if the bird is to rise to a greater height than it would reach in still air.]
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AIRY, H. The Soaring of Birds 1 . Nature 27, 590–592 (1883). https://doi.org/10.1038/027590a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/027590a0