• Question: Why can birds fly?

    Asked by anonymous2 to Pete, Rebecca, SallyB, Sally, Sian on 24 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sally Fenton

      Sally Fenton answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Like every creature birds have evolved to be a certain way which has helped them to survive…so birds can fly because at some point in evololution having wings obviously proved to be helpful whilst they were trying to stay alive! these birds with wings will then have passed this feature onto their offsprings.

    • Photo: Rebecca Randell

      Rebecca Randell answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      They have lightweight bones. They have feathers, some of which are “flight feathers” that are long, strong, and able to produce lift and act as control surfaces. They also have a bone called the furcula, more commonly known as the “wishbone,” in their chest, which is very important for being able to produce the strength and skeletal support needed to flap their wings.

    • Photo: Peter Styring

      Peter Styring answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Its very complex. They have a very high metabolism to can produce a lot of energy quickly. The also have a very specialised ligament (AHL) which is essential for flight. It’s not only birds that can fly though. There are some amphibians like the flying lizard!

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