Flight adaptation in birds

About Flap to the Future The Cornell Lab's Bird Academy created Flap to the Future to help players understand the adaptations birds evolved that help them fly. How birds evolved flight is still hotly debated by biologists and paleontologists, so what we’ve presented is a simplification of lots of fascinating scientific knowledge and questioning. rEVOLUTIONary Adaptation: Feathers Players start the game as Tawa, a small dinosaur that lived 200 million years ago in the floodplains of what is now the American Southwest. There is little debate among scientists that birds evolved from dinosaurs from the theropod group, like Tawa. One of the big clues connecting birds to this group of dinosaurs comes from the many impressions of simple feathers found on fossils discovered over the past few decades in China. Based on this evidence, scientists now believe that so called "dino fuzz" feathers covered the bodies of most theropods. These feathers probably helped them stay warm. The feathers also had patterns and colors, so perhaps also helped dinosaurs either stay camouflaged or show off. In the Late Triassic, although bird ancestors had feathers, they were still earthbound. rEVOLUTIONary Adaptation: Flight Feathers In Flap to the Future, players first catch some air as Microraptor. With specialized flight feathers on all four limbs, this extinct dinosaur from 120 million years ago appears to have been a gliding specialist and a tree climber. Though the flight feathers gave the dinosa...

Adaptations for Flight Adaptations for Flight T he evolution of flight has endowed birds with many physical features in addition to wings and feathers. One of the requirements of heavier-than-air flying machines, birds included, is a structure that combines strength and light weight. One way this is accomplished in birds is by the fusion and elimination of some bones and the "pneumatization" (hollowing) of the remaining ones. Some of the vertebrae and some bones of the pelvic girdle of birds are fused into a single structure, as are some finger and leg bones -- all of which are separate in most vertebrates. And many tail, finger, and leg bones are missing altogether. Not only are some bones of birds, unlike ours, hollow, but many of the hollows are connected to the respiratory system. To keep the cylindrical walls of a bird's major wing bones from buckling, the bones have internal strut-like reinforcements. The pneumatization of bird bones led to the belief that birds had skeletons that weighed proportionately less than those of mammals. Careful studies by H. D. Prange and his colleagues have shown this not to be the case. More demands are placed on a bird's skeleton than on that of a terrestrial mammal. The bird must be able to support itself either entirely by its forelimbs or entirely by its hindlimbs. It also requires a deep, solid breastbone (sternum) to which the wing muscles can be anchored. Thus, while some bones are much lighter than their mammalian counterparts, ...

Gliders Some animals are gliders. Flying squirrels, for instance, can glide more than 100 metres between one tree and another by jumping off and stretching out special flaps of skin between their limbs. But gliding is not the same as flight, since there is no power behind it. It’s likea paper aeroplane which soon falls to the ground. Other flyers Only some animals can fly properly. Most winged insects can do it, such as flies, moths and dragonflies. Bats are the only true flying mammals. Their wings are made of skin stretched out between special long finger bones. Flying machines Birds are the champion flying machines of the animal world. Their bodies are designed for it. Their arms have transformed into wings to power them along. Instead of heavy jaws and teeth, they have lightweight beaks. And instead of fur, they have feathers. These are light, streamlined and cleverly adjustable for flight control. Their bones are also hollow (pneumatised) making them lighter for flight. Egg weight Laying eggs gives birds another advantage for flight. Unlike mammals, such as humans, a young bird develops outside its mother’s body – in the egg. So the mother has less weight to carry. This may be why the largest egg of any bird relative to its size is actually laid by the flightless kiwi. This huge egg takes up one third of the mother’s body before it is laid. There’s no way she could fly and carry the egg, even if her wings worked.

In this article we will discuss about the Volant Adaptation in Animals:- 1. Introduction to Volant Adaptation 2. Volant Adaptation in Birds 3. Volant Adaptation in Mammals. Introduction to Volant Adaptation: Animal came to the land from water to overcome the competition of space and food in water. Some of them were lured to expe­dite the air either to escape from enemies or to capture food. But it is interesting that they never succeeded in developing their nest at air. They had to return on earth for resting and nesting. Therefore, they exhibit dual adaptive modifications — one for air and the other for land. For movement in air they developed flight mechanism in addition to terrestrial or aquatic adaptation. Adaptation of animals in exploring the air or extra­terrestrial environment is called volant adap­tation. Characteristics of Volant Atmosphere: ADVERTISEMENTS: The environment is characteristically homo­geneous and lighter than any other habitable places. There is less possibility of friction with environment during movement. The only problem is the gravitational force of earth. Pre-requisites for Volant Life: Deve­lopment of specialized organs for flying is the primary requirement. Body of a volant animal must be light and rigid. During flight continuous supply of energy and power to the muscles is necessary. Animals are also required to acquire speed adapta­tion. Moreover, balancing and navigation of the body during flight should be well inte­grated. Adaptive Featu...

Topic:Adaptations Description: This book examines the topic of flight in a number of different animal species, over half of which are birds. From the delicate transparency of a dragonfly’s wing to the sturdy sleekness of an Albatross, the textures and colors of each cut-paper-collage illustration beautifully captures the feature it portrays. A unique aspect of this informational book is that it is written at three different levels. For each illustration, there is a bold, declarative statement making it a perfect read aloud for even the youngest audiences. There is a more informative paragraph for each illustration, providing a bit more information about the species or feature described. Finally, there are smaller illustrations with accompanying detailed text, expounding upon the concept or applying it to additional species. This provides a starting point for students who want to know more about those ideas that interest them. Activity 1: Taking Flight – Flying and Migration! Explore bird flight and migration in the third lesson in our Activity 2: Whose Wings are These Explore common wing shapes of birds by studying diagrams of four typical wing shapes. Discuss how each wing type is adapted for a different type of flight and have children come up with a list of birds for each wing type. For older groups, download the Activity 3: Making Wings Make flying “birds” ( paper airplanes colored to look like birds). Encourage children to try making different wing types. You might wa...