Steven Portugal, postdoctoral researcher at the Royal Veterinary College and the studys lead author, had set out with some colleagues in 2011 to figure out why so many bird species fly in V formations. To examine some birds up close, they teamed up with a conservation organization that was breeding
In a study just published in Nature, an international team led by Steven Portugal of the Royal Veterinary College in London shows that birds defy these expectations: they really can fine-tune their flight formations to be more efficient.As the crow fliesWhen a bird flies, it creates spinning loops o
Date: Jan 16, 2014
Category: Sci/Tech
Source: Google
Migrating Birds Use Precise Flight Formations to Maximize Energy Efficiency
energy. But the models also indicated that the birds' coordination would have to be exceptionally precise to make a difference, and many scientists had doubted that the animals could achieve such a feat during flight, says ecophysiologist Steven Portugal at the Royal Veterinary College in Hatfield, UK.
The distinctive V-formation of bird flocks has long intrigued researchers and continues to attract both scientific and popular attention, however a definitive account of the aerodynamic implications of these formations has remained elusive until now, said Steven Portugal, lead researcher at the Ro
Date: Jan 16, 2014
Category: Sci/Tech
Source: Google
Secret behind V formation of birds flying revealed
The current theory implies that birds use the lift provided by the lead birds in a V formation. Lead researcher Dr. Steven Portugal, a postdoctoral researcher at Royal Veterinary College in England, headed the recent study involving the rare and endangered northern bald ibis.
Every year a flock of the ibises takes to the air escorted by a skeletal aircraft known as a paraplane "two chairs with a hairdryer on the back and a parachute," jokes study author Steven Portugal, also of the Royal College that carries the birds' human foster parent and a world-class pilot.
Date: Jan 15, 2014
Category: Sci/Tech
Source: Google
Surprising Nanostructures Found on Guillemots Eggs May Impact Human ...
Presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Conference held in Spain, lead researcher Steven Portugal from the Royal Veterinary College in London said he first realized something was different about the eggs when water was spilled over an egg collection. As this happened, the water collected o