Published October 24, 2018 17:01 EDT (Brief from Royal Society)
A portable stereo-imaging system and algorithms allowed researchers to measure three-dimensional flight trajectories and time-resolved wingbeat frequencies of freely flying birds. When applied to jackdaws and rooks flying alone and in large flocks, the resulting data suggest that flocking, unlike V-formation flight, is energetically costly.
Canadian co-author: Richard Vaughan, Simon Fraser University – vaughan@sfu.ca
