La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Starlings and starling models in wind tunnels
Auteurs :	W. Nachtigall, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Journal of Avian Biology (29(4) DEC 1998)
Article en page(s) :	478-484
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	The paper contains three parts. (A) A short description is given on the development of the bird Eight wind-tunnel technology in my Munchen and Saarbrucken labs; three tunnels especially adapted for the study of pigeon Eight and of starling flight are described. (B) Results from aerodynamic two-component measurements of smooth starling models are given, built exactly after the coordinates gained by high resolution stereo photography of starlings gliding freely in a tiltable tunnel. Measurements of the model trunk. with and without tail feathers. are compared as well as measurements on the original starling and its model. The feather covering decreases drag and enhances lift. (C) Energetic measurements (by J. Speakman and his group who used our wind-tunnels) using the respiration mask technology, the doubly-labelled water technology and the heat dissipation technology are compared. Metabolic power rises slightly with flight speed. The three types of measurement coincide well.

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