A) Wing bones\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The leading wing edge is made up of the radius, ulna and humerus limb bones. These create the frame for the primary (flight) feathers.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

B) Upstroke\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The wings are kept slightly folded as they are pushed up to reduce air resistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

C) Supracoracoideus muscles<\/strong><\/p>\n

These muscles push the wing up, and account for 10-15 percent of a bird\u2019s bodyweight<\/p>\n

D) Eyes<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Birds need excellent eyesight to navigate at speed while in the air.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

E) Pectorial muscles\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

These pull the wings down, and account for 15-25 per cent of a bird\u2019s bodyweight.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

F) Keel\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018breastbone\u2019 provides an anchor for the flight muscles.<\/span><\/p>\n

G) Tail\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The feathered tail makes a great rudder<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

H) Primary feathers\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

These are the flight feathers and create the curved \u2018aerofoil\u2019 shape that generates lift.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

Why birds\u2019 wing shapes vary?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
So that they perfectly suit a species\u2019 lifestyle \u2013 here are the most common shapes:<\/span><\/p>\n
Short and rounded wings<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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These are ideal for manoeuvring in tight places, so they are perfect for woodland raptors like sparrowhawks, and most passerines, or perching birds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Pointed wings<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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When flapped hard, these streamlined wings enable their owners \u2013 such as falcons and ducks \u2013 to reach tremendous speeds. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Long and thin wings<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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These are ideal for birds like albatrosses, which take advantage of air currents generated above the surface of the ocean to glide effortlessly for long periods. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Large and broad wings<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The large surface area allows bigger birds, such as buzzards, eagles and storks, to soar on thermals and save the energy of wing-flapping. The slots between the primary feathers minimise turbulence. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
What are feathers made of?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Feathers<\/a><\/strong> are made from keratin (the same as our fingernails) and come in two forms \u2013 large, stiff vane feathers for flight and soft down feathers for insulation. The colours are made by pigments or tiny structures that scatter or reflect light.<\/span><\/p>\n
Typical feather structure<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Barbs (1)<\/span> branch from the main shaft or <\/span>rachis (2)<\/span>. Barbs are hooked together by <\/span>Barbules (3)<\/span>, strengthening the structure. A down feather has hookless barbules and is less rigid. <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/body><\/html>\n
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By BBC Wildlife Magazine Published: Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 12:00 am Flight gives birds a fairly big set of advantages over other animals. It enables them to forage over a wide area and to catch food on the wing. They can migrate between regions, to take full advantage of seasonal gluts and avoid the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24230,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/how-do-birds-fly-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By BBC Wildlife Magazine Published: Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 12:00 am Flight gives birds a fairly big set of advantages over other animals. It enables them to forage over a wide area and to catch food on the wing. They can migrate between regions, to take full advantage of seasonal gluts and avoid the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24229"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

What do birds need to fly?<\/h2>\nTo take to the air, a bird needs:<\/p>\n

What do birds need to fly?<\/h2>\n
To take to the air, a bird needs:<\/p>\n