Some Facts About Their Flight
Did you know that Hummingbirds beat their wings at a fantastic rate, yet they appear motionless when hovering over a flower? Brown pelicans glide with precise control. Flight has characterized birds fo some 140 million years. So how do birds fly?
Birds have a number of physical characteristice that give them the ability to fly. The qualities include hollow bones, flexible yet lightweight feathers, huge pectoral muscles; complex, efficient circulatory and resporatory systems - essentially keep thier weight low and their power output high. Another practical trait that keeps birds light is that the female has only one ovary, and both sexes have small reproductive organs. During the nonbreeding season birds’ reproductive organs decrease in size almost to the point of atrophy.
You could say they are built to fly. Next time you look out and see these amazing critters at your birdbath or one of your birdfeeders, or even just perching on your patio furniture or deck, you can marvel at how quickly they spread their wings and fly.