• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Gift Vouchers
    • Post-Review Optics
      • Post-review Binoculars
      • Post-review Spotting Scopes
    • View Cart
    • Your Account
      • edit-account
      • edit-address
      • lost-password
  • Wildlife Tours
    • Wildlife Holidays & Tours
    • Guided Wildlife and Birding Walks
    • Custom Wildlife and Birding Tours
  • Schools
  • Books
  • News
    • Irish Wildlife News
    • International Wildlife News
    • Wildlife Events
    • Wildlife Press Releases
  • Articles
    • Blog
      • Birding
      • Wildlife Photography
      • Whales and Dolphins
      • Mammals
      • Wildlife Podcasts
        • The Calendar Road
      • Biodiversity
      • Wildlife Calendar
    • Species Profiles
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Fungi
      • Invertebrates
      • Mammals
      • Plants
      • Reptiles
    • Feature Articles
      • Choosing Binoculars
      • Birding for Beginners
      • How to watch whales and dolphins
      • How to watch Basking Sharks
      • Wildlife travel
    • Wildlife Portfolio
    • Wild Wide Web
    • Reviews
      • Book Reviews
      • Gear Reviews
        • Wildlife Optics
          • Binocular Reviews
          • Spotting Scope Reviews
        • Wildlife Clothing
        • Wildlife Accessories
  • Work with us
    • Write for us
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Wildlife Marketing Services
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Disclosure Statement
  • Contact

Ireland's Wildlife

Irish wildlife, nature and biodiversity

You are here: Home / Wildlife News / International Wildlife News / “Flap-running” offers insight into evolution of flight

“Flap-running” offers insight into evolution of flight

June 29, 2011 by Calvin Jones Leave a Comment

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) in flightResearchers in the USA believe that the ungainly practice of “flap-running” employed by many birds as they climb a steep incline could represent a key step in the evolution of flight.

Biologists at The University of Montana’s “Flight Lab” conducted a series of experiments with domestic pigeons. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, shows how flapping helps birds to ascend steep inclines using a fraction of the energy needed for full flight, and suggest that early flightless birds probably employed a similar technique.

The scientists wanted to find out why birds would choose to flap-run up a slope when they are capable of full flight. Dr Brandon Jackson, who led the team and co-researcher, Dr Ken Dial, first noticed the behaviour when filming a type of partridge known as a chuckar, which would routinely “flap-run” over obstacles and even up cliff faces in preference to flying.

Measuring the amount of energy used in the flight muscles of pigeons Dr Jackson and his team demonstrated that on a 65 degree incline flap-running demanded only 10% of power from the birds’ flight muscles compared to full flight.

“The signal was imperceptible at first, and we actually thought we had a problem with the recording equipment,” said Dr Jackson. “But when we zoomed in, there it was, about a tenth the magnitude that it was during flight. The birds seemed to be using hardly any power to flap their wings as they ran up the slopes.”

The method is also an essential learning step for fledging chicks say the researchers, allowing young birds with underdeveloped flight muscles to get off the ground and away from some predators.

“And if baby birds can perform these behaviours, benefit from them, and transition gradually to flight in their life-time, we think it’s probable that dinosaurs with (similarly small wings) could have performed these same behaviours, benefited from them, and transitioned towards flight over evolutionary time,” explained Dr Jackson.

Share this with your friends:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: International Wildlife News Tagged With: birds, flight

  • .
    .

About Calvin Jones

Calvin Jones is a freelance writer, author, birder and lifelong wildlife enthusiast. He is founder and editor of IrelandsWildlife.com and founder and wildlife guide of Ireland's Wildlife Tours offering wildlife and birding holidays on Ireland's south coast.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • .
    .

Search the site

Social

  • View WildIreland’s profile on Facebook
  • View WildIreland’s profile on Twitter
  • View WildIreland’s profile on Instagram
  • View WildIreland’s profile on Pinterest
  • View CalvinJones’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View IrelandsWildlife’s profile on YouTube
  • View IrelandsWildlife’s profile on Google+
  • View WildIreland’s profile on Flickr

Supporting Ireland’s Wildlife

  • .
    .
  • .
    .
  • .
    .
Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites

Footer

Experience Ireland’s Wildlife for yourself

Breaching humpback whale Ireland

Join us on a wildlife adventure on Ireland’s Wild South Coast… and find out first hand why we call this Europe’s Undiscovered Wildlife Frontier.

Find out more…

Recent Additions

  • Book Review: How to Be an Urban Birder
  • Review: Wunderbird Clothing for Birders
  • Book Review: The Great Big Book of Irish Wildlife Through the Seasons
  • Lunge-feeding Fin Whale caught on camera by drone
  • 12 Expert tips on choosing binoculars for birding and wildlife observation
  • Be “Nature Nice” this Tree Day!
  • Puffins of Ireland
  • Eagles and Fin Whales star on Ireland’s Wild South Coast

Tags

audio binoculars biodiversity birding birds Birdwatch Ireland books cetaceans citizen science CJ Wildlife competition conservation Cork fin whale full size binoculars garden birds garden wildlife Golden Eagle Trust Highly Recommended humpback whale Ireland IWDG Kerry mammals national biodiversity data centre npws optics photography raptors review reviews spring stranding surveys Vanguard west cork whales whales and dolphins whalewatching whale watching white tailed eagle Wildlife wildlife crime wildlife photography wildlife podcasts
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Ireland's Wildlife Privacy Policy

Take it from the top....

Copyright © 2019 Ireland's Wildlife · brought to you by the team at CJ Writing

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.