How do birds fly?
The simple answer is: with their wings. A more accurate answer is that everything about a bird’s body is designed for flight, including its specialized feathers, hollow bones, and very strong flight muscles located in the breast. As a bird flaps its wings, the force of the wings does two things: lifts and propels the bird. As the wings push downward and backward, more air is moved below the wing than above it. This difference in the amount of air, or air pressure, is what causes lift, and results in upward and forward movement of the bird. The concept of lift, such as that produced by a bird’s wing, can be illustrated easily. Have your youngster hold his or her hand, flattened with fingers together, just outside the window of a moving car. When the leading edge of the hand tilted upward, the force of the wind immediately pushes the hand upward. This is exactly how the aerodynamic design of a bird’s wing helps to create life and helps to hold a bird in the air in between flaps or while
