Vinathi Prasad

Mrs. Seader
Science
May 3, 2011
Factors that Enable Birds to Fly

One of the most fascinating characteristics of many birds is their ability to fly. Many

people, including Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright Brothers, tried to mimic their flight and

enable the future generations to do so too. Although we have planes and jets, we still are unable

to fly as the birds do. The factors that enable birds to fly are thrust, weight, lift, drag, feathers and

the shape of the wing, and bone structure.

Thrust, weight, lift, and drag are the four forces that keep the birds in the air. Thrust and

drag oppose each other, and lift and weight oppose each other. Thrust is the force that pushes the

bird forward. Drag is unwanted because it slows the bird down. To reduce drag, birds tuck their

feet into their bodies. Lift is proportional to the square velocity of the bird, so when it speeds up,

the lift is greater. As the bird moves forward, the weight decreases and the lift increases until

they are equal, so then the bird can fly.

The total amount of feathers a bird can have can reach up to 25,000. Those feathers can

be divided into 6 categories, which are contour, semiplume, down, filoplume, bristle, and

powder-down. All birds have feathers, but they may not have each type. Feathers make the shape

of the wing, but the wing shape is what makes the bird able to fly. The high aspect ratio wing is

much longer than it is wide and has a lot of vertical lifting area. They can be seen in an albatross.

The elliptical wing is even in pressure over most of the surface and facilitates a subtle change in

the angle of the wing. They can be seen in sparrows. The high speed wings are narrow and come
out to a sharp tip to reduce drag and produce forward thrust. They can be seen in falcons. The

high lift wing has major slotting (the movement of air to facilitate smoother flying) in the wing-

tips and can be seen in eagles.

The last factor that enables a bird to fly is their bone structure. Birds have light, yet

strong bones. As they grow up, they lose and fuse bones together in their hands, feet, pelvis, and

vertebral column. Their muscles are specially distributed so they have a suitable center of gravity

for flight. Their wings also increase in length to hold more feathers.

All of these factors help a bird stay in the air, and control their speed whenever they need

to. Humans don’t have the wings and lightweight bones as birds do, so we just have to accept the

fact that we can’t fly on our own. With the help of machines, we can fly through the air to get

where we want. Soon, inventors and scientists will be able to come up with a way for humans to

fly with birds.

Bibliography

1. “Index to Ornithology.” Index to Ornithology. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.

<http://ornithology.com/>.

2. “lift (physics) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia.” Encyclopedia- Britannica Online

Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/340350/lift>.

3. “THE K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook.” THE K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook.

Cislunar Aerospace, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://wings.avkids.com/ >.

4. “The Wild Classroom: Biology Videos and Podcasting via Ecogeeks.” The Wild

Classroom: Biology Videos and Podcasting via Ecogeeks. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.thewildclassroom.com/>.