Abstract
SOME observations which I made on the flight of gulls two years ago on a trip to the Gambia were confirmed lately by observations in the Irish Sea and Atlantic. With the vessel (some 300 tons reg.) proceeding N.N.E. in a steady fresh E.N.E. wind, the gulls flew head to wind, keeping practically the same position in or over the stern of the vessel, apparently on motionless wings and with little or no updraft of air. While keeping head to wind they advanced sideways with the vessel going about 9 knots. I noticed the same attitude of gulls when the wind was quite ahead and the birds as usual, flying head to wind. In the latter case the birds seemed to have less difficulty in maintaining both their position and motionless attitude.
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WILSON-BARKER, D. Flight of Birds. Nature 114, 645 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/114645c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/114645c0
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