Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: IT HAS COME to our attention that certain frequently used terms describing wing dimensions refer to different morphological features when used by ornithologists, as opposed to physiologists or physicists working in aerodynamics. Potential for confusion certainly exists, particularly now that the study of avian aerodynamics may be entering a very active phase, given theoretical (Rayner 1979a, b; Ellington 1984b; Norberg 1995; Dickinson et al. 1999) and experimental (e.g. Chai and Dudley 1995, Dial et al. 1997, Spedding et al. 2003, Tobalske et al. 2003) advances in animal-flight research over the past few decades. Here, we describe the conflict in terminology and suggest a solution, in hopes of avoiding misunderstandings in future studies of aerodynamics by ornithologists. We also discuss how ornithologists might best take some measurements of interest in aerodynamics studies. In aerodynamics, the definition of wing length R is distance from base of the wing to tip. For birds, that distance should be measured on a wing extended in a natural position, as during flight (see Fig. 1). Wing chord c is defined in aerodynamics as any straight-line distance between leading and trailing edges of the wing, taken perpendicular to the long axis of the wing (i.e. wing length)-and that definition appears in standard non-ornithological sources like the Oxford Unabridged Dictionary. Animal wings typically vary in chord length from base to tip (most wings become narrower distally), and mean chord of the wing is defined as S/2R, where S is the area of both wings (Ellington 1984a).
Source: The Auk
Authors: F. Gary Stiles, Douglas L. Altshuler
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2174366087