Search

Naval aviation of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters

on 20th December 2008

Lin Yangchen photographed three successive stages of dive sequences of the Blue-tailed Bee-eaters (Merops philippinus) as it zoomed into the water to most probably catch an aquatic insect or a fish.

“The first photo shows the bee-eater leaving its perch with the anterioposterior axis pointed downwards (but dorsal surface still on top), but with the head remaining horizontal (top left). I call this ‘gyroscopic’, and it is a behaviour exhibited by dragonflies in flight also – when they turn, they keep their heads horizontal. This way of leaving the perch does not necessarily lead directly to a dive – the bird may fly around the area first before descending to the water.

“A few milliseconds prior to impact with the water surface, the wings here are more swept back than those in Lee Tiah Khee’s photograph (top right). This could be because the bird needed to slow down and make precise adjustments to its trajectory in order to hit the fish accurately (in Tiah Khee’s case), while it can afford to hit at full speed and low accuracy in a bathing dive (my photograph). Another possible explanation for the difference is that my photograph was taken nearer to impact when the bird could have already locked on to its target anyway and could go all out with the afterburners for the kill. In the final moments before detonation, Tiah Khee’s bird could have swept its wings back. In any case, the two photographs bear a striking resemblance to the famous variable-geometry wings of the F-14 Tomcat. Record shot:

“The bird emerges from the water with anterioposterior axis parallel to direction of gravitational field, narrowly averting a mid-air collision with a MiG-35Hirundo tahitica (top left). But collision avoidance should be easier than it seems, because each bird is submerged only for a fraction of a second. Vertical emergence is probably more efficient because the bird presents less surface area to the water in the direction of travel (above right).

“In the takeoff from the water, the bird accelerates rapidly to cruising speed and altitude where all weapons systems (e.g. prey tracking, predator avoidance) regain full functionality (left).”

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

2 Responses

  1. Pingback: fish eaters

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
1112
15890
Visitors Today
51730778
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)