PetScoop: Why Birds Are Such Brilliant Flying Machines

The above photo from Flying Machines, Amazing at Any Angle--New York Times shows the wake of a hovering rufous hummingbird. The yellow vectors show air velocity, revealed by particle image velocimetry. The mist in the background is a cloud of laser-illuminated olive oil droplets.

According to University of Montana Flight Laboratory biologist and lab director Bret W. Tobalske "the most astounding fliers...are the world's 350 or so species of hummingbirds, which, largely because of their size, have mastered flight like no other bird. The calliope hummingbird weighs only as much as two paper clips, yet it migrates annually between Canada and Mexico."

He and fellow director and biologist Kenneth P Dial research the mechanics of flight and "are obsessed with trying to bridge the gap in flying abilities between humans and birds." Interesting short article. Flying Machines, Amazing at Any Angle--New York Times.

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