The laziest creature in the world is the "cave salamander", which can lie in a cave for seven years without moving 1 cm, and for ten years without eating or starving. Since there is the laziest, of course, there are also diligent, compared to the ten years do not move a few centimeters of the salamander, swift can be said to be very industrious, it can fly continuously for about 200 days without landing, the annual migration distance can reach more than 35,000 kilometers.
Because of the long flight without landing, it is also jokingly called "footless bird". Scientists have found through research that it is not really "footless", and there is actually another reason for not landing.
A small swallow, with such perseverance to fly for such a long time, doesn't it need to eat and mate? Of course, it is needed, after all, it is also an animal that has not yet reached the state of "immortals" who have no desire and no desire. But these things can be done in the process of flying, that is, it can eat or mate while flying, so let's take a look at what the "Swift" has to offer!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > Swift</h1>
Swifts, also known as lou swallows, are one of the fastest flying birds. It is distributed all over the world, the most famous in China is the "Beijing Swift", and the head shape of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is the Beijing Swift. There are many different species of swifts, such as alpine swifts, white-waisted swifts, black swiftlets, Javan swiftlets, white-throated pintail swifts and so on. The body length is generally 10-30cm, and the weight varies from 10-150g.
Common swift females and males do not look much different in appearance , with mostly dull black or brown plumage , a white-grey throat , and white or light markings on the thorax. In fact, the shape of the swift looks very similar to that of ordinary swallows, but it will be relatively larger. Its wings are long, and its feathers are not particularly covered, so it will look thinner, looking like a long, pointed sickle.
As mentioned above, swifts can migrate more than 35,000 kilometers a year, and it is a well-known migratory bird. As the nursery rhyme goes, "Little swallow, wear a flower coat, come here every spring." Swifts are generally seen between April and August, after which you will find them all gone. At this time, you don't have to worry about whether they have an accident or not, they just migrate to other places.
According to Chinese scientists to observe the migration of Beijing Swift, found that Swift actually flew to Africa, once scientists speculated that they probably went to the warm eastern coastal area, did not expect that they actually flew to Africa in one breath, across the Eurasian continent, shocking.
As a bird, swifts also need to build nests, so they carry out nesting and egg laying work for more than 100 days without flying. Because swifts have the habit of breeding in groups, they will also be concentrated in one place when nesting, and a couple of swifts will build a nest together, and the nesting position is mainly concentrated between the gaps in the building, especially the tall ancient buildings. When they nest, they will perform aerobatic flights between buildings, and the appearance of flying up and down is very beautiful, which is why Lou Yan got its name.
The nest of the swift varies from about 8 to 20 meters above the ground and looks like a saucer. Nesting materials are also abundant, such as old cardboard, hay, animal hair will be brought back by them for nesting.
The number of eggs laid by swifts per clutch is 1 to 6, the incubation period is about 17 to 28 days, and the eggs are generally hatched by females and males, which can be seen that the family division of labor of Swifts is still relatively fair.
The born chicks are flesh red, bare and featherless, with weak legs and feet, eyes that have not yet been opened, and body temperature is not constant, requiring feeding and warmth from the parent birds.
After about 30 days of help from adult birds, young birds can get out of the nest and fly on their own to forage, the overall periodicity is still relatively short, it should be to adapt to the natural environment.
There is an important reason why people love swifts, they like to eat pests, according to observations, a swift can catch 7,000 insects in a day, they generally eat flies, mosquitoes, cattle flies and other bugs. After nesting and giving birth to birds, swifts increase their need for food, and they hunt back and forth to feed their young birds more than 20 times a day.
The reason why swifts are called lou swallows we already know, and swifts are named after the fact that they fly very low when it is about to rain on a cloudy day, and people observe this situation and think that they can be used as a forecast of rain, so they are called swifts. So where did the nickname "legless bird" come about? Is it just because they fly a long time and land less time to give them this nickname?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="59" > the life of a "legless bird"</h1>
Swift has been flying for so long in its life, the most fundamental reason is that it is not suitable for "landing", it has legs and feet, but they are short and weak, which makes them unable to be like other birds, even on the ground can be pedaled with their feet, take off smoothly. The weakness of their legs and feet dooms them to rely on the towering terrain to help them take off, so they generally jump from tall buildings or cliffs, start diving, and in the process open their wings to complete the flight.
Their toes are also different in shape from other birds, with all four toes growing forward and not having the ability to grasp branches, so they rarely stay in the tree.
Swift's short, hooked claws can firmly grasp the vertical surface of rock cliffs or buildings, and when it needs to fly, its feet are loosened and its body can naturally fall to spread its wings and fly.
Therefore, swifts are called "footless" birds, not because they do not have long feet, but because these feet are not suitable for standing and walking, and they seem to have lost their original meaning, and having feet is better than having no feet. Due to this defect in physiological structure, Swifts have spent most of their lives flying, because landing on the ground may mean death, and unless someone throws them up, or carries them to a high place to give them the necessary conditions to fly, otherwise on their weak legs and feet, Swifts cannot take off again, and can only wait quietly for death.
Experts have found that swifts really sleep in the air by tying small GPS detectors or photosensitive positioning techniques to their feet, using the unique structure of their wings to glide while sleeping at altitudes of 1,000-2,000 meters above sea level. During this period, it can be observed that they rarely flap their wings, and only occasionally flap them to maintain a flight speed of 8.5 m/s.
However, many people are very skeptical about this, after all, in human daily life, there can be no such thing as a swift "flying and sleeping with wings on the pillow", which is as absurd as sleeping while working. But the sleep of animals is actually different from that of humans, through the detection and judgment of the EEG, it is found that the two hemispheres in swift's brain can sleep alternately, that is, half are sleeping, and the other half remain awake to maintain flight work, which is very magical.
And when they glide to sleep, they will reduce their own energy consumption to the minimum, this speed of gliding for the maximum flight speed can reach 100 km / h they can be said to be a piece of cake, so here sleep is called "napping" is more appropriate, is their short rest way, perhaps they do not need sleep at all.
During the breeding period, swifts that need to court will fly and chirp in the updraft position, and the mating method is through the cloaca, and the whole mating process is relatively short. This process does not need to fall on the ground, or choose a certain location to stay, and it can be successfully completed during the flight. Therefore, it will be said that the mating task of swifts will be completed in flight, of course, the subsequent spawning and hatching work will still fall down and carry out in the nest.
Their predation and drinking water are also carried out in the air, and when they drink water, they will be close to the surface of the water, using their beaks to lightly drink the water surface, and will not stay on the branches of the water surface. The swifts fly very fast, so they are also the best hunters among birds.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" > the migration of swifts</h1>
By using photosensitive positioning, scientists have discovered the migration route and migration destination of the Beijing Swift. They will set sail before August, heading first toward Inner Mongolia north of Beijing, then to Xinjiang to the northwest, passing through the Tianshan Mountains and officially entering Central Asia, then crossing the entire Arabian Peninsula, and arriving in southern Africa in about November for the winter. According to the life span of Swift, scientists also counted their lifetime flight distance and found that it was almost the same as the distance from The Earth to the Moon, at about 370,000 kilometers.
Swifts' average speed is still a little worse than that of stormtroopers such as frigate birds, but endurance is indeed the strongest of these birds, with a flight of more than 200 days a year, making them known as "the birds that love to fly". Until scientists give accurate data, it is difficult to imagine such a small bird, across the Eurasian plate, to Africa for winter, and the whole process takes about three months, and the creatures in nature are indeed "each with their own skills".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="76" > the revelation of swift wings</h1>
Swift's sickle-shaped wings and gliding mechanisms have given scientists some enlightenment, mostly about how to modify the aircraft. The tip of the swift's wings also has wingtip bones that are larger than the proportions of the body, which is the key to the swift's flexible angle change during flight, and scientists feel that scientists can use this feature to develop a small and agile fighter similar to the Swift.
The fighter also has swifts' "glide" skills when napping, and when flying at higher speeds, retracting its wings reduces drag, while more effectively maintaining a small angle and making it stay in the air for the longest time.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="97" > other bird flying masculiners</h1>
Among the fastest birds, swifts are the most endurance. In addition to it, there are actually many birds among the flying fierce, such as the peregrine falcon, its size is relatively large, the usual flight speed is 140 km / h, when diving to pursue prey can reach 360 km / h, known as the "fighter" in birds.
The frigate bird is also a bird as its name suggests, with a body length of up to 1.1 meters, about 2 meters after the wings are opened, and a flight speed of 418 km / h when predation, which is a well-deserved "short-distance flight champion". Compared with these large birds of prey, the swift can be said to be very small and exquisite, but everyone did not expect that its small body contained so much endurance.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="84" > conclusion</h1>
At this point, we have learned about the hard-working life of the "footless bird" Swift, and in ancient times people always said "Bird bird An Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhao" to express their lofty ambitions, but today we find that although the bird is small, it has been flying all its life.
Swifts may not fly as tall as birds, and their size is far from being easy to observe, but it does not prevent them from flying and busy in order to survive, rather than the seemingly inconspicuous swifts are ordinary people who have been struggling for life in our daily lives.