a rare closeup of a black swift, found throughout north america and small parts of south america. swifts are rarely seen up close; they spend more of their life in air than any other species of bird – they eat, drink, mate and sleep while in flight. they are incapable of perching like other birds; they must cling to vertical surfaces.
I had to look this up because “sleep while in flight” ????
but yeah, apparently completely true. these birds stay aloft for as much as 10 months nonstop, feed on insects, spend more energy at night (when there aren’t warm thermals to ride) and at dawn and dusk climb to 10,000 ft altitude where the 30 min slow descent is probably when they catch their sleep.
they’re unusually long-lived for such active critters (20 yrs) and they may be limiting energy expenditure by being extremely aerodynamic and narrow bodied. Also a single bird travels the distance of about 7 roundtrip journeys to the moon in its lifetime (>3 million miles).
This is a ruby-crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula). Images like this are frequently passed around the internet as “round borbs”, “birb”, or “smol friend”.
However, it is incredibly import to remember: your smol friend is a dirty liar.
How does this wizardry work? The magic is all in ptiloerection, or contracting special muscles that raise and lower feathers. The majority of a bird’s body is actually completely bare of feathers– instead, feathers grow from special tracts (or pterylae).
Thanks to the feather erector ptili muscles, these feathers are strategically arranged across the body for thermoregulation and communication. Some feathers are specially adapted for tactile sensory input, too! They can help a bird find prey, or detect air current shifts to alter wing angles for flight efficiency.
Susiron 