[Karine Christelis]

Karine Christelis asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Why are doves the only birds that you can hear flying?

What do you think?

[CliffordK]

Do you have any reference material?

It just doesn't sound reasonable.

For example, geese honk while migrating...  why would they make any sounds if they couldn't hear them?

I think some of the predators (hawks, eagles, owls, etc) can use hearing as part of their locating prey.

Bats, while technically not birds, are known to use sound as a form of sonar to both see and locate prey.

[Geezer]

I'm not sure, but perhaps Karine is referring to the sound made when they flap their wings. If so, lots of birds can be heard. Grouse can really surprise you with the racket they make when they take off.

Raptors tend to be very quite, and I believe owls are the quietest of all.

[CliffordK]

Sorry...  I missed the "You"...   


Ok...

What about Hummingbirds?

Many aquatic birds will also make noise when taking off.

[Don_1]

Many aquatic birds will also make noise when taking off.

Penguins certainly do......... ****SPLASH*****


The larger birds tend to make quite some noise due to the volume of displaced air, (pardon the pun) though (as Clifford wrote) humming birds also make a fair noise due to the speed of their wing flapping.

[imatfaal]

As Geezer said gamebirds that live close to the ground and only bolt when you are right on top of them make a huge row.  I have fallen over in surprise at a pheasant erupting a few feet in front of me - its a sort of slapping, banging sound.

[Geezer]

Seagulls wing beats are fairly quiet, but they can cause a lot of indirect noise.

........Splat.....Oh for gords sake!! Right on top of me barnett!!!

[CliffordK]

Now...  on the opposite end of the scale...  would be the buzzards.

Although perhaps that is only because we often see them floating in the sky 100+ yds away.  Maybe we need to find one of those sound amplifiers and aim it at birds.

No...  not to blast them out of the sky!!!!!!!!   To listen to them.

Somewhere I saw something about feathers that were specifically designed to reduce turbulence as it goes over the wings.