Facts and Theories of Bird Flight

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Abstract
This article consists of a survey of the literature in the field, most of which is observational and conjectural rather than experimental. The bird is described as a flying mechanism. There is noted the striking specific differences in manner of flight, each species being well adapted to certain flying conditions and ill-adapted to others. There is an analysis of the 3 modes of flight[long dash]gliding, flapping, and soaring. Of these, soaring is least understood. Consideration of the many hypotheses advanced demonstrates that none of them and no combination of them adequately accounts for all observed cases of soaring. Perhaps the only original contribution of this article consists in the presentation of a new soaring theory offered not to replace, but to supplement those already suggested. It is pointed out that most wind is gusty, consisting of air currents varying in both direction and velocity. It is suggested that a bird could conceivably capitalize the antagonistic inertia present in uneven wind so as to maintain and even gain altitude without resorting to flapping. This could be done by wheeling into each new current possessing inertia antagonistic to that possessed by the bird at the moment. There is a bibliography of 26 titles.

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