photo by {a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyr1/3572062891/"} Jonny Ross{/a} (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The albatross is a large sea bird with a dramatic wingspan that can reach up to 12 feet. The birds range over huge areas of the ocean and regularly circle the globe as they forage for food. Traveling such distances would be a huge energy burden for most birds, requiring vast quantities of food. Now, new research has revealed how the albatross is able to fly thousands of miles with minimal energy use.

diagram from the {a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0041449?imageURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0041449.g001"}public library of science{/a}

The albatross’s secret is a strategy called “dynamic soaring” by which the bird can actually harness the energy of the wind to glide long distances without flapping its wings — essentially eliminating the mechanical costs of flight. First, special tendons allow the bird to save energy by locking it’s wings open. Second, the albatross uses a dynamic flight pattern to surf the strong winds that are common over the ocean.

Gliding perpendicularly into the wind the albatross gains lift, rising to an altitude of about 50 feet.  At the top of its crest, the bird turns slightly in the direction of the wind and then coasts effortlessly downward until it nears the surface of the water.  Turning again into the wind, the bird soars upward once more, and the cycle repeats (see diagram).