Steve Shinn
Alulae (plural of alula) showing on a Red-tailed Hawk delivering a King Snake to the nest.
I like the beauty of this bird but, as a pilot, I also enjoy observing the real masters of the skies.
Note the forward projections on the wings called ”alulae" (little wings" or “bastard wings”). These are analogous to the thumbs of a hand and are deployed like the slats of a larger aircraft. They allow extra lift at slower landing speeds without causing a stall.. which could be embarrassing for a bird and worse for a pilot. This bird was dumping altitude for a landing, hence the folded wings and compacted tail, but it still needed some lift.
As the bird neared the nest the wings became more open until they and the tail and were fully flared at the nest resulting in a perfect, full stall landing.
That shot had branches in the way but you get the idea. More at photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=15806012
If only my landings were as graceful.
Alulae (plural of alula) showing on a Red-tailed Hawk delivering a King Snake to the nest.
I like the beauty of this bird but, as a pilot, I also enjoy observing the real masters of the skies.
Note the forward projections on the wings called ”alulae" (little wings" or “bastard wings”). These are analogous to the thumbs of a hand and are deployed like the slats of a larger aircraft. They allow extra lift at slower landing speeds without causing a stall.. which could be embarrassing for a bird and worse for a pilot. This bird was dumping altitude for a landing, hence the folded wings and compacted tail, but it still needed some lift.
As the bird neared the nest the wings became more open until they and the tail and were fully flared at the nest resulting in a perfect, full stall landing.
That shot had branches in the way but you get the idea. More at photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=15806012
If only my landings were as graceful.