Read About Bird Wing

A bird wing is the most noticeable characteristic that separates birds from the rest of the animal population. Here’s what you need to know about a bird wing.

Why is a bird wing special?

A bird wing is special because it’s something that very few other animals have. Bats have wings and so do insects, but birds cover a much larger group of animals.

Birds use the bird wing for transportation, gathering food and in a sense, protecting themselves from predators, making the bird wing a very necessary multi-tasking body part.

How does a bird wing work?

A bird wing is attached to the bird’s thorax, which includes a very wide breast plate and very strong breast muscle. These muscles pull the wing back and forth, which, combined with wind and other air movement, creates lift under the bird. The lift, in addition to a little help from the legs, pulls the bird into the air. The bird then uses its bird wing to change directions and slow down, though the tail is more instrumental in the slow down than is the wing.

A bird wing is quite obviously covered in feathers. The feathers also play a role in flying. Feathers help the bird steer and they also help the bird stay warm while it’s flying at cool temperatures high in the sky. Many birds use the feathers that are attached to the bird wing to pick up wind, which allow the bird to soar or get upward lift.

Wing types

Each bird’s wings are shaped differently. A bird wing develops its shaped based on how the bird gets around. A hummingbird needs wings that are far back and pointed so that the bird can obtain motionless flight. Hummingbird use motionless flight when they pause at a flower so they can feed. This status is obtained because the far back, pointy wings allow the wing to turnover and cancel backward motion with forward motion, therefore creating the motionless flight.

A soaring bird, such as the eagle, will use its bird wing to keep the bird at a steady pace while it’s in flight. These birds have a much calmer looking flight pattern than the humming bird, which can look frantic and panicked. Eagles achieve this floating-like movement because they have broad wings. The way the feathers are arranged on a broad wing allows the eagle to catch and shift wind so it can stay afloat without flapping either bird wing.