Pigeons landingCOURTESY OF THE STRUCTURE AND MOTION LAB, THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE
Geese glide swiftly through the air in a V-formation that provides great aerodynamic benefits, including decreased energy requirements. Pigeons, on the other hand, fly in busy cluster flocks -- taking sharp, banked turns and flapping their wings rapidly -- which, it seems, takes a great deal more energy than flying solo, according to new research published this week in Nature.
The finding suggests that pigeons, and other cluster flocking birds, fly in flocks for reasons other than energy efficiency.
"It's very interesting," said Geoff Spedding, chairman of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California, who was not involved in the research. "As far as I know, nobody has had the instrumentation before to measure things such as wing beat ...
