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The U, J and L of bird flight

Nature volume 390, page 13 (1997)Cite this article

Respirometric measurements of the power needed for birds to fly at various speeds have been at odds with aerodynamic theory. Direct experiments confirm theory, but loose ends remain.

Oxygen consumption is not a direct measure of mechanical work, however; it indicates how much food is burned aerobically as fuel, but may not be a good indicator of work performance if muscles work with variable efficiency. Dial and his colleagues, writing on page 67of this issue2, now describe how they have made direct measurements of the work done by a flying bird. They find that, as for aircraft, much more power is needed to fly slowly than to fly at intermediate speeds.

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Figure 1: Power for flight at different speeds.

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  1. R. McNeill Alexander is in the School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    R. McNeill Alexander

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  1. R. McNeill Alexander
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Alexander, R. The U, J and L of bird flight. Nature 390, 13 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/36196

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