Why do birds travel contained by groups?
they are lonley ?
Protection mainly. The larger the group, the more intimidating they are to predators. Larger groups also verbs a predator- they cannot tell where one bird form the flock really is.
Also, birds are VERY social creatures! They love to be around one another for companionship, not just mate.
Answers: Birds fly in a V to help conserve their energy during migrations.
With the exception of the individual influential the group, each bird
trailing behind the other benefits from a reduction contained by wind
resistance. The birds are deliberating tailgating respectively other; it's the
concept of ?drafting,? best known to those gutsy people who drive
close behind semis on the freeway to stay out of the meander and boost
their fuel efficiency.
The next time you see ducks or geese flying in a V, examine them for a
while to see if the lead bird changes. Canada geese do this, and I
suspect other species do, too. Since whoever is up front is working
the hardest, every very soon and then the birds make a switch. The leader
drops fund ? usually all the way posterior, where wind drag is lowest ? and
a rested bird comes to the front. While there is no single, unchanging
?leading light? for a V of birds on the move, it is the oldest, experienced
individuals who are calling the navigational shots, using the sun and
the stars at night to orient themselves and stay on course.
Another thing you'll often catch sight of is how a ?V? changes shape.
Sometimes it looks more like a check mark, next to one bird flying lead,
two or three birds trailing on one side, and the majority of birds
strung out on the other. This too is a strategy for dealing with wind.
It normally means a crosswind is blowing ? the short side of the
formation is taking the brunt of the wind, while on the long side, the
birds are attempting to shield one another from it."
