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Into the wild blue yonder…or why do birds fly?

Well, I asked the question from few different people, and these were the answers I have got. How would you answer the question?


I asked a tired chemistry professor Why do birds Fly.


he said, because they can.


Birds flying
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And I was not satisfied. So, I asked Richard Faynman.


He was kind. He thought about it and spoke. "Well, I can give you easy answer or I can give you a longer version of it. Easy answer is the force generated by the flapping of wings of the bird is enough to lift its weight against gravity and the forward thrust generated is more than the resistance. So, they fly, my boy that is how an airplane fly. That is how we build our airplanes to mimic the nature. But, if you truly want to know how birds fly, I will say fundamentally it is due to interactions of four forces of nature,

  1. Gravity: The force of attraction between masses.

  2. Electromagnetism: The force between charged particles.

  3. Weak Nuclear Force: Responsible for radioactive decay and neutrino interactions.

  4. Strong Nuclear Force: Holds the nuclei of atoms together.

That is all there. Anything you see happening is happening due to these interactions. Not only this, you ask this question and I answer the question because of these forces. You and I live and die due to same reasons.


owl flying
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Then I asked Robert frost. Why do birds fly?


He said, birds do fly in search of food, to get away from the enemy and to chase their partners. Birds fly when they are happy and when they are sad and when they are scared. Birds fly, as it is faster than walking. They do have feet after all so it's all about speed. Speed so they can survive in the wild against the odds of the nature. Against the cruel nature and its forces which try to engulf their lives all the time. Birds do fly so they can be above their prey to dart onto a fish or a butterfly or a bug in seconds to swallow it in whole. Birds do fly because they have higher chance of survival on treetops than on the ground below. And flying is easier than climbing to get there.


I asked David Attenborough Is it true? Why do birds fly is for their survival?


He said, maybe yes. Maybe there is more. And he showed me a video on a baby eagle taking its first flight. How it first jumped from a branch to another. And like it had no choice, like it was born to do. Like because it can. Next was a big leap into the sky. And that was a beginning of a lifetime of flying.

Then he showed me baby ducks fresh out of their nest on a tree top jumping off the tree to land on the forest floor, hearing their mothers' cries. Like they had no choice. He said to me. Of course they can, they fly because they can. And also, they fly, fly because they must, as it is essential to fly not to die, and to be alive.


ducks flying
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I asked a child why do birds fly?


He said, I don't know. Do they fly?

What is flying? and what is a bird?

Is the eyes of the bird a bird?

Is it wings make a bird a bird?

Is it beak makes a bird a bird?

Is all of it a bird?

And what is flying?

Is it flapping wings flying?

Is it pushing up the ground flying?

And why did you say it is flying looking at the still image of a bird in the sky?


Thank you for reading Why do birds fly.

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