Why do birds have different types of wings?
7 mins read

Why do birds have different types of wings?

“Awkward” would probably be the most benevolent word I could use to describe the explosive launch into flight of the California quail.

Certainly, the words graceful or athletic do not come to mind.

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A quail taking flight is somewhat like a rock with a bad set of wings as these pudgy birds madly flap, exerting great effort to get off the ground.

On a backcountry hike I enjoyed a much different, “wow” moment watching a massive bald eagle spread 6-foot wings and gracefully lift into the sky with a few measured wing beats. It seemed effortless.

It was like an adagio symphony, but pleasing to the eye, rather than the ear.

On a recent visit to La Jolla, I had to giggle watching cormorants landing on the sandstone cliffs.

They made quail look like flying Aces.

The cormorant landing was more like a controlled crash.

Apparently, the cormorant was absent from flight school on the day they were teaching how to land but paid close attention when it came time to learn how to swim underwater.

The contrast between quail, cormorant and eagle was striking, and I wondered, why do birds have different kinds of wings and flight patterns?

When you consider that there are over 9,000 species of birds in the world and over 700 here in the United States, found anywhere from deserts to dense forests, oak woodlands, grasslands, marshes and open marine environments, it becomes obvious that various wing shapes have evolved as food gathering, migration and habitat impact their survival.

According to the Cornell Lab or Ornithology, there are four general wing shapes that allow birds to do specific things, such as gliding, soaring, hovering or flapping in the most effective ways.

The four wing designs include passive and active soaring, elliptical, high speed and hovering.

Soaring wings are long, like gliders, and there are two types of soaring wings.

The passive soaring wing design included buzzards, hawks, eagles and storks and they are spread out allowing these birds to effectively use thermals to gain altitude without having to use energy to flap their wings.

Active soaring wings are long, narrow and pointed, a more efficient design for albatrosses, gulls and gannets that are more dependent on wind currents to sustain long periods of flight over great distances.

Birds that migrate over long distances can often be identified by wings with sharper primary feathers designed to help them preserve energy.

Birds such as terns, swifts, ducks, falcons and sandpipers have high-speed wings that are long and pointed, allowing them to maintain rapid flight and maneuver quickly to capture prey.

Elliptical wings allow birds to take off quickly, maneuver well and apply short bursts of speed. They are not designed for sustained flight.

You might have guessed, that’s what kind of wings quail have, along with sparrows, robins, blackbirds, crows and ravens.

Hovering wings are unique to hummingbirds.

While some birds can flutter in place momentarily, the hummingbird can hover in one place for an extended period, fly forward or backward, and move at an incredible speed.

While their gossamer, pointed wings are important, they also have highly developed nerves and muscles that are well adapted for their rapid wing beats and jet-like movement.

Within the four basic wing designs, there are also special adaptations.

Owls are stealth hunters, depending on their ability to approach prey silently.

To do this, their elliptical wings are large for their body size, allowing for effortless flight and they have specialized wing feathers that buffer and reduce noise.

One of the benefits of bird-watching is learning to pay attention to detail.

Tiny differences in wing length, shape or color patterns can help you identify a species, and this includes careful attention to wing design.

A good exercise is to just sit and watch the different birds around your home and see what you can learn about them from their wing shapes.

Learning these often-subtle traits can help you identify a bird with just a quick glimpse and adds one more dimension to enjoyment of our wild world.

Spring update from Mt. Hoo

Spring is softly evolving on Mt. Hoo as the cycle of life progresses faithfully for another year.

Our nectar feeders are filled with hummingbirds and hooded orioles.

The orioles arrived on schedule, with the first sighting on March 12. Females are busy gathering threads from palm fronds and building pouch nests.

By mid-summer, the oriole population will increase dramatically as fledglings leave the nest and swarm nectar feeders.

The nesting cycle of house wrens has begun.

There is a wren nest box outside of our window, equipped with a camera that allows us to follow the nesting activity.

On April 9, a female began bringing in the heavy timber (large twigs) and forming the nest.

At press time she has just about completed construction and is adding the final touches of downy feathers and soft grass that will be the bed for the jelly bean-sized eggs that should soon arrive.

If you would like to follow the nesting cycle, visit the Mt. Hoo Wren Nesting Facebook page for short videos and photo updates of the nesting activity.

Romance is in the air, with nightly coyote serenades and I am hoping our game camera will soon be catching images of coyote pups when parents bring them out to feed and drink in the wee hours.

And while I make fun of how quail fly, they are one of my favorite birds.

Soon, the parent birds will be bringing the walnut-sized chicks to our ground saucer for water.

It’s a 10 on the cuteness scale.

Cowan is a freelance columnist. Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com.