{"id":252795,"date":"2024-08-09T11:36:44","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T11:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/we-now-know-how-kestrels-stay-perfectly-still-while-hovering\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:12:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:12:40","slug":"we-now-know-how-kestrels-stay-perfectly-still-while-hovering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/we-now-know-how-kestrels-stay-perfectly-still-while-hovering\/","title":{"rendered":"We now know how kestrels stay perfectly still while hovering"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>\n    <iframe title=\"Kestrel hover could inspire next generation of drones\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9U3VzAMsT3I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n    <\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Kestrels have been trained to fly inside a wind tunnel to reveal how they can hover in turbulent winds while keeping their heads almost perfectly still.<\/p>\n<p>Training the two captive-bred nankeen kestrels (<em>Falco cenchroides<\/em>) took three years, says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmit.edu.au\/contact\/staff-contacts\/academic-staff\/m\/mohamed-dr-abdulghani\">Abdulghani Mohamed<\/a> at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Adding to the difficulty, each bird was wearing 52 reflective markers so they could be filmed to create the same 3D models that are used in computer-generated imagery.<\/p>\n<p>The hovering behaviour is critical to the birds as it allows them to keep their heads perfectly still to focus on prey on the ground. \u201cIt\u2019s a hunting behaviour and their life depends on it,\u201d says Mohamed. \u201cThey have an amazing level of steadiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the wind tunnel, researchers could create repeatable and measurable turbulence conditions, enabling them to study the specific movements of the kestrels and what they respond to. Altogether, the team recorded 58 hours of hovering over five years.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers found that the birds\u2019 hovering was so stable that their heads didn\u2019t move beyond 2 millimetres in any direction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a magnificent scene every time I watch the birds hovering in the wind tunnel,\u201d says Mohamed. \u201cTo see them so effortlessly and gracefully hovering is just spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ArticleImage\">\n<div class=\"Image__Wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" width=\"1350\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1288px) 837px, (min-width: 1024px) calc(57.5vw + 55px), (min-width: 415px) calc(100vw - 40px), calc(70vw + 74px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=300 300w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=400 400w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=500 500w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=600 600w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=700 700w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=800 800w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=837 837w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=900 900w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1003 1003w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1100 1100w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1300 1300w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1400 1400w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1500 1500w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1600 1600w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1674 1674w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1700 1700w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1800 1800w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=1900 1900w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/08125300\/SEI_216472854.jpg?width=2006 2006w\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-image-context=\"Article\" data-image-id=\"2443211\" data-caption=\"A nankeen kestrel flying in a wind tunnel\" data-credit=\"RMIT University\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"ArticleImageCaption\">\n<div class=\"ArticleImageCaption__CaptionWrapper\">\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Title\">A nankeen kestrel flying in a wind tunnel<\/p>\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Credit\">RMIT University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"js-content-prompt-opportunity\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Unlike conventional aircraft, which have fixed wings and limited control over their surface area, kestrels have morphing wings that are able to almost instantly adjust their surface area. This is the crucial factor in enabling them to achieve stillness, says Mohamed.<\/p>\n<p>The kestrels did this most successfully by deftly moving their wrists and subtly extending and retracting their elbows. Their tails also played a crucial role in providing extra stability, says Mohamed.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the findings, the team has now constructed a prototype for an unpowered drone to test in the wind tunnel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to do an exact replica of all the anatomy of a kestrel, so we have distilled our findings down to the main contributors to stability \u2013 wrist and tail movements \u2013 and built a robotic version of a kestrel,\u201d says Mohamed.<\/p>\n<p>The artificial kestrel is currently being tested, with results expected later in the year.<\/p>\n<section class=\"ArticleTopics\">\n<p class=\"ArticleTopics__Heading\">Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2443209-we-now-know-how-kestrels-stay-perfectly-still-while-hovering\/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&#038;utm_source=NSNS&#038;utm_medium=RSS&#038;utm_content=home\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Kestrels have been trained to fly inside a wind tunnel to reveal how they can hover in turbulent winds while keeping their heads almost<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":252796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252795"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}