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Study suggests dark-colored wing feathers may help birds fly more efficiently
A team of researchers at the University of Ghent has found evidence that suggests birds with white wing feathers close to the body and black wing tips get increased lift from their wing colors. In their paper published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, the group describes their study of wing color in several species of birds and what they found.
Humans have been studying birds and other flying creatures likely since the time they could think. In a new study, researchers wondered if the color of a bird had any impact on flying efficiency. To find out, they collected several stuffed samples and brought them to their lab for study.
The experiments consisted of putting stuffed wings in a wind tunnel, heating them with infrared lights and then testing them to see what happened. They were most interested in soaring birds such as back-blacked gulls, gannets and osprey. They tested samples of each under various wind conditions to see if wing color had an impact on flying efficiency. Notably, soaring birds can at times gain altitude without even flapping their wings due to undercurrents.
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Wednesday July 31 2019, @03:15AM (3 children)
I wonder if this suppresses vortices. Airplanes do that with winglets. Birds may do it with a combination of feathers and color. The color would have virtually no weight penalty, but I'm guessing it wouldn't scale to something the size of a passenger airliner.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 31 2019, @03:23AM (2 children)
Warmer wing, faster airflow over the wing, increased lift?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 31 2019, @04:53AM
we've known hotter Buffalo wings are better for years, temperature controlled with ranch dressing
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Wednesday July 31 2019, @12:57PM
Warmer wing on the top side (where you want incrementally lower air pressure) than the lower... maybe. Anyway, it’s the pressure differential that creates lift, mainly because of the shape of the airfoil.
No quantum effects reported? Must be a slow news day at phys.org.