How the world’s largest bird flew
The Star, 8 July 2007
IT CRUISED the skies above the Argentine pampas about six million years ago, a soaring behemoth of a bird, the size of a modern light aircraft, dragging about 63kg in ballast.
But with little in the way of muscle to flap its wings and propel itself through the air, just how did the largest bird to ever take wing stay aloft?
That question has puzzled paleontologists for decades, but in a study released Monday, US researchers suggest that the now extinct Argentavis magnificens was essentially an expert glider, hitching a lift on thermals and updrafts.
“Once it was airborne, there was no problem. It could travel 320km in a day,†said Sankar Chatterjee, a distinguished professor of geology at the Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, and lead author of the paper.
Chatterjee and a team of researchers analyzed the aerodynamics of the ancient bird of prey by plugging information about its flight parameters into flight simulation software.
The analysis showed that the prehistoric aviator, like most large soaring land birds, was too large to sustain powered flight, but could soar efficiently, reaching speeds of up to 107kph in the right conditions.
“The hardest part would be taking off from the ground,†said Chatterjee. “It probably used some of the techniques used by hang-glider pilots such as running on sloping ground to get thrust or energy, or running with a headwind behind it.â€
The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. — AFP