As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 9 June 2019

New research explores the mechanics of how birds flock


JUNE 4, 2019
by University of New Orleans
Wildlife researchers have long tried to understand why birds fly in flocks and how different types of flocks work. A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explores the mechanics and benefits of the underlying flock structure used by four types of shorebirds. Understanding more about how these birds flock moves researchers a step closer to understanding why they flock.
The study, led by Aaron Corcoran, a postdoctoral researcher studying bat and bird flight and ecology, and biology Professor Tyson Hedrick of UNC-Chapel Hill, appears in the June 4 issue of eLife.
In the study, the researchers focused on four types of shorebirds that vary in size: dunlin, short-billed dowitcher, American avocet and marbled godwit. Corcoran and Hedrick filmed and analyzed almost 100 hours of video footage to better understand the mechanics of shorebird flocks. They found that the birds fly in a newly defined shape the team named a compound V-formation, which they believe provides an aerodynamic advantage and predator protection.

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