How birds soar
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Soaring birds — like osprey, eagles, falcons, even vultures — can stay aloft in the air seemingly forever, rarely flapping their wings. They glide along rising air currents in a way that has fascinated humans and scientists for centuries.
Now, an international team of researchers led by University of Florida evolutionary biologist Emma Schachner, Ph.D., has reported for the first time that soaring birds use their lungs to enhance their flying in a way that has evolved over time. The team’s study was published today in Nature.
In short: Unlike the lungs of mammals, bird lungs do more than just breathe. An air-filled sac within the birds’ lungs is believed to increase the force the birds use to power flight muscles while soaring.
