spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by HedenstrOM, A.
Right arrow Articles by Sunada, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by HedenstrOM, A.
Right arrow Articles by Sunada, S.

Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol 202, Issue 1 67-76, Copyright © 1999 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

On the aerodynamics of moult gaps in birds

A HedenstrOM and S Sunada
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. Anders.Hedenstrom@zooekol.lu.se.

During the moult, birds sequentially replace their flight feathers and thus temporarily have gaps in their wings. These gaps will vary in size and position(s) during the course of the moult. We investigated the aerodynamic effects of having moult gaps in a rectangular wing by using a vortex-lattice (panel) approach, and we modelled the effect of moult gap size at the wing moult initiation position, of gap position in the primary tract and of two simultaneous gaps (as occurs during secondary feather moulting in many birds). Both gap size and gap position had a detrimental effect on aerodynamic performance as measured by lift curve slope, effective aspect ratio and the aerodynamic efficiency of the wing. The effect was largest when the moult gap was well inside the wing, because the circulation declines close to the wing tip. In fact, when the gap was at the wing tip, the performance was slightly increased because the lift distribution then became closer to the optimal elliptical distribution. The detrimental effect of moult gaps increased with increasing aspect ratio, which could help to explain why large birds have relatively slow rates of moult associated with small gaps.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Exp. Biol.Home page
E. S. Bridge
The effects of intense wing molt on diving in alcids and potential influences on the evolution of molt patterns
J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2004; 207(17): 3003 - 3014.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
J. C. Senar, J. Domenech, and F. Uribe
Great tits (Parus major) reduce body mass in response to wing area reduction: a field experiment
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 2002; 13(6): 725 - 727.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 1999