Abstract
IN a letter to NATURE in February, 1876, I suggested that the sailing-flight of birds and the flight of flying-fishes could be explained as tobogganing under almost perfect conditions, and in 1889 the late Duke of Argyll accepted this, in a letter to the Spectator, as a correct and sufficient explanation. My old friend the late Prof. H. N. Moseley, a member of the Challenger staff, held the view that a quivering, imperceptible to the eye, of the wings and fins was the true explanation. I do not know which explanation has been generally accepted, but I Would suggest that a kinematographic picture of the flying-fish ought to settle the question finally, if it is not already settled.
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ABBAY, R. The Sailing-Flight of Birds. Nature 85, 475 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/085475d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/085475d0
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