One good turn: Birds swap energy-sapping lead role when flying in v-formation

Date:

February 2, 2015

Source:

University of Oxford

Migrating birds 'share the pain' of the arduous task of leading a v-formation, so that they can then take turns saving energy by following in another bird's wake, a new study shows.

The research, by an international team led by Oxford University scientists, is the first convincing evidence for 'turn taking' reciprocal cooperative behaviour in birds. It is also only the second good example of reciprocal cooperation in animals, following a study that revealed how vampire bats shared blood to keep other unrelated individuals alive.

The team studied 14 juvenile Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) migrating from Salzburg in Austria to Orbetello in Italy. The 'human-imprinted' birds followed a powered parachute carrying their handlers. Tiny 23g data loggers worn by each bird enabled the researchers to examine how individuals within a flying v-formation interacted.

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Technology reveals how and why some bird flocks fly in a V-formation

January 2014: Researchers have attached custom-built GPS and accelerometer loggers to birds on migration and have gained ground-breaking insights into the mysteries of bird flight formation. 

The light-weight, synchronised GPS and inertial measurement devices, recorded to within 30cm accuracy where a northern bald ibis was within the flock, its speed, and when and how hard it flapped its wings. The precision of the measurements enabled the aerodynamic interactions of the birds to be studied at a greater level and complexity than ever before.

The research, led by the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, proves for the first time that birds precisely time when they flap their wings and position themselves in aerodynamically optimal positions to maximise the capture of upwash, or ‘good air’, throughout the entire flap cycle.

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