Zoology: The stability and instability of bird flight

 
A paper will be published this week in Nature that reveals that bird flight can be inherently stable and unstable.This research finding contradicts the general hypothesis that the evolution of birds reduces flight stability and improves maneuverability.This study provides clues to elucidate the evolution of bird flight and lays the foundation for a theoretical model of bird maneuverability.

Birds can change the shape of their wings to perform amazing aerial maneuvers, but the dynamics of these rapid changes in movement have not been fully elucidated.To further elucidate this point, Christina Harvey et al. Conducted research on the ability of bird species (22 species) to smoothly change the shape of their wings (morphing).Birds can change roll and yaw inertia (rotation around the anterior-posterior and up-down axes) by wing morphing, but these changes have been found to have little effect on the position of the center of gravity.In addition, 17 bird species were able to switch between stable and unstable flight.

Previous studies have suggested that modern birds may have the ability to fly stably, but as a result of evolution, birds have become unstable in pitch (rotation around the left and right axes). It is widely believed that maneuverability has improved.This study suggests a new explanation that the ability to switch between wing shapes for stable flight and wing shape for unstable flight may be maintained by evolutionary pressure. ..The study also brings previously missing knowledge to those who are trying to devise mathematical models of bird flight maneuverability.A similar theory now exists for aircraft, but it could not be applied to birds until this study clarified the inertial properties in detail.

doi: 10.1038 / s41586-022-04477-8
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"Highlights of Nature Magazines" is a translation of a release made by Nature's public relations department for the press.If you need more accurate and detailed information, be sure to read the original paper.

 
* This article is reprinted from "Nature Japan Featured Highlights".
Reprinted from: " Zoology: When birds fly stable and unstable'
 

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