Descent and Landing

Landing can be tricky, especially if a bird is aiming to perch on a twig or tele­phone wire. To slow down, a bird uses its tail as a brake, spreading the tail feath­ers to increase drag. Its body adopts an upright position, and the legs swing forward to absorb the shock of impact, just as an airliner lowers its landing gear. The bird beats its wings to main­tain control and uses backbeats (similar to an airline pilot using reverse thrust on a plane’s engines) to slow down. Its feet reach out to get a firm grip on the chosen landing place.

Bigger birds often take a step or two on landing to regain balance, folding their wings as they complete the land­ing. Water birds come down rather like seaplanes, using their feet as water skis as the water slows them down. Some birds, such as fulmars and albatrosses, spent most of their lives flying over the ocean-even sleeping on the wing-and come to land only to breed.

Hunting birds use a variety of differ­ent techniques to descend when they are hunting prey. A buzzard flies high in
circles before swooping down to attack. A peregrine falcon launches itself on its target in a high-speed dive while it folds in its wings to reduce wind resistance. Some birds, such as gannets and boo­bies, dive straight into the ocean to catch fish.