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From: rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (ArchTeryx)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: What are these birds doing and why?
Message-ID: <1990Dec13.180809.9082@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 13 Dec 90 18:08:09 GMT
References: <4514@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM>
Sender: news@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
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dmunroe@copper.WR.TEK.COM (David Munroe) writes:


>I apologize if everyone here knows the answer to this, but I don't know
>much about birds.  Now that rec.autos is in the middle of a flame war, I've
>got a chance to post this.  :-)

>Also there is a stream, a pond, and some ducks here.  The ducks are very
>elegant in flight except, in my opinion, they beat their wings too fast.
>When they come in for a landing (on the pond) they seem to botch the landings:
>their wings are stretched out straight, tilt way over one way, then the other
>way, break quickly, and plop down in the water.  Is this typical of duck
>landings or do they just have problems zeroing in on small ponds?

The ducks have to beat their wings fast, because they are rather bulky and must
maintain a high airspeed to keep aloft.  As for the tilting, that too serves
a very specific purpose.  It is a form of controlled side-slipping to quickly
lose altitute.  Ducks and geese cannot slow down their airspeed very well,
becuase of their high loading curve (they must fly fairly fast to keep from
stalling/crashing upon landing).  So they have to lose altitute *very* quickly 
to make a landing on a small pond, yet remain in control to keep from crashing/
injuring themselves.  This is called side-slipping by pilots, and is a very
useful trick.  The birds just evolved it on their own.

To answer your above questions, yes, it is typical of both duck and geese 
landings, and they do that specifcally so they can land on small ponds.





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R. Cody Buchmann                             ^.^  
   "Kehaar"                 
                                       "He tell *me* the plan...I *know* the 
email: rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu        plan!"  -Watership Down. 
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