There is such a bird in nature, they have been flying all their lives, eating are solved in flight, they can hardly sleep, the only landing may be the moment of death, in addition, are they really not landing moments? So how do you reproduce?
The bird's name is Swift, and because it rarely lands in its lifetime, they also have a name called "Footless Bird". This bird has its footprints all over the world, and there are many species in the Swift family.
The feathers of ordinary swifts are very plain, mostly dark brown. Swifts are generally 10 to 30 cm long and weigh around 9 to 150 grams. This bird may seem nothing special, but its flight ability is one of the best in nature, with the sharp-tailed swift flying average of 170 km/h and a top speed of 352.5 km/h.
Swifts are a typical migratory bird
They, who live at high latitudes, fly long distances from north to south, like most migratory birds. Every year, a large number of swifts depart from their habitat and fly to West Africa for the winter. Miraculously, the scientists found that during this process, Swifts flew in the air most of the time, essentially without rest.
But during this months-long journey, do the swifts really not need to rest? One even speculates that swifts have the ability to stay in the air.
So scientists at Delong University began to study this. In 2013, they installed recording equipment for 19 swifts to record their status. Rest assured that this very lightweight device will not hurt the Swift. After a period of recording, people will capture them again after a year or two. Then by analyzing the recorded data of the recorder, scientists can know whether they have rested or not.
A swift that has been flying all its life, does it really have no time to rest? Scientists have studied Swifts in order to explore the secrets of swift flight.
Through the analysis of the data, the scientists found that during the more than two-month flight, one swift did not fly for only two nights, and even more outrageously, the second year, the swift only rested for two hours. Although this swift is only an isolated case, most swifts will still rest more frequently, but it also surprised scientists.
One of the reasons why swifts always fly much longer than rest is its legs. Swifts have legs that are too short, and they are weaker than most birds. You must have seen small sparrows bouncing on the side of the road, and swifts are birds that basically have no ability to jump. So they generally don't choose to land on the ground, because once they land, it may be difficult to fly again, so they are also vulnerable to attacks by other animals.
Another reason is that most Swifts can actually rest in flight. Do you know? They are truly multi-purpose players, and their "half-brain slow-wave sleep" can do just that. It may sound complicated, but it can be understood that when the Swift is in control of flying in half of its brain, the other half of the brain rests.
However, in the event of a storm, Swift will also choose to stay on the cliffs to rest. This not only can be a good way to avoid external dangers, if you want to continue flying, you only need to dive down to take off.
The problem of rest is solved, what about reproduction?
How do swifts that have been flying all their lives reproduce? Do you know? The mating of swifts also takes place in the air.
In the mating season, the male swift will form a parallel companion flight with the female by gliding, and the two sides will contact the cloaca, and it only takes a few seconds for mating to be completed.
Regarding the nest, the cliff not only provides them with a place to rest, but also one of the main places where they build their nests. This lifelong pair of birds is usually paired when they are one year old, and then the pair spends four years together and matures after four years. Swifts that have reached the mature stage must consider the problem of "housing" at this time.
Every spring, swifts nest in the same place, and in addition to the cliffs, the eaves are also their best choice. This bird, which rarely rests, does not briefly enter the nest for a short rest until the entire nest is built with saliva.
After entering the breeding period, the swifts will be very productive, probably in order to return to the sky faster, they will appear new members every two or three days, and the small swifts will hatch in about 19 days, and after about 6 weeks, the little swifts will be able to fly like his parents, and then begin to migrate, and the cycle will start.
Although this amazing bird, the swift, spends most of its life in the air, they still need a habitat to breed. But with the popularity of bird's nest over the years, the living environment of swifts has also been greatly threatened. The loss of bird's nests and the destruction of swift habitat for the sake of profit has led to a sharp decline in the number of swifts in recent years, and it is imperative to protect them. After all, the symbiosis and harmony between man and nature is essential!