Take-off and Landing
See also: Bird landingsTake-off is one of the most energetically demanding aspects of flight, as the bird needs to generate enough airflow across the wing to create lift. With small birds a jump up will suffice, while for larger birds this is not possible. In this situation, birds need to take a run up in order to generate the airflow to take off. Large birds take off by facing into the wind, or, if they can, by perching on a branch or cliff so that all they need to do is drop off into the air.
Landing is also a problem for large birds with high wing loadings. This problem is dealt with in some species by aiming for a point below the intended landing area (such as a nest on a cliff) then pulling up beforehand. If timed correctly, the airspeed once the target is reached is virtually nil. Landing on water is simpler, and the larger waterfowl species prefer to do so whenever possible, landing into wind and using their feet as skids. In order to lose height rapidly prior to landing, some large birds such as geese indulge in a rapid alternating series of sideslips in a maneuver termed as whiffling.
Read more about this topic: Bird Flight
Famous quotes containing the word landing:
“I foresee the time when the painter will paint that scene, no longer going to Rome for a subject; the poet will sing it; the historian record it; and, with the Landing of the Pilgrims and the Declaration of Independence, it will be the ornament of some future national gallery, when at least the present form of slavery shall be no more here. We shall then be at liberty to weep for Captain Brown. Then, and not till then, we will take our revenge.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)