Abstract
IN the discussion about the soaring of birds which has lately been carried on in NATURE, I do not remember to have observed that any one quoted from Mr. Darwin's account of the condor. He says (“A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World,” chap. ix. p. 186):—“When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once taking off my eyes: they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without giving a single flap .... The head and neck were moved frequently, and apparently with force; and the extended wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body, and tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings were for a moment collapsed; and when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of any bird soaring, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity.”
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CURRIE, J. The Soaring of Birds. Nature 28, 82 (1883). https://doi.org/10.1038/028082a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/028082a0
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