Steve Wetmore, age 11, of New Brunswick, N.J... For his question:
Why do birds fly in V formation?
When a squadron of Canadian geese flying over New Jersey, you know that spring is on the way. In the fall, we hope that the big, brown birds will return overhead on their way to spend the winter in our southern States. A flock of geese, ducks or other water birds often makes its long flight in an eye catching V formation.
More people ignore birds, but no one can resist watching a flock of geese flying together like a neat, V shaped dart over the sky. We watch and soon begin to wonder why and how the trick is done. Perhaps the neat squadron is led by the old fellow who happens to be boss of the flock. Perhaps the leader is selected because he knows the way or has a good sense of direction.
Bird watchers have admired and puzzeled over this V formation for generations. Even now, experts are not sure that they can explain all of its details, but some recent studies suggest that We may have 1et our imaginations run away with us. At 1east, the spearhead of the flock is not the boss of the flock or elected for his special skills.
The Canadian goose is one of the famous V fliers, and a pair of these birds mates for life. Family life revolves around each married couple., and the flock is merely an association of families. Moreover, careful watching has shown that the leader of the squadron is not always the same bird. In a long flight, the leader may drop back and another bird flies forward to take his or her position.
In order to fly planes, we had to learn aerodynamics, which is the way air moves and flows around solid objects. Designers learned about the invisible currents and motions, stresses and strains involved in moving air and moving objects. Geese and other V flying birds have been coping with these problems for ages. We might, suggested the experts, apply some of these theories of aerodynamics to the V formation of certain flying birds.
The lead bird cuts straight through an invisible wall of air. This sets up flaying currents of air behind him, and the following birds take advantage of them. The leader's work is hardest, and after a while he tires and hands over his pioneer work to another bird. He can then relax a little with the help of the currents and sheltering eddies which flow behind the lead bird.
As a rule, birds fly in Y formation only when migrating or making a journey of several miles. In short hops around their feeding grounds, whole flocks may take to the air at once and fly in the same direction. But this mass flight does not take any particular formation. The V shape is for long distances. At evening, the migrating flock rests on some quiet pond. The wheeling and landing skills at this time are even more fascinating to watch than the V shaped flights over the Sky.