Long, sexy tails not a drag on male birds
Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 22:21
in Biology & Nature
The long tails sported by many male birds in the tropics look like they're a drag to carry around and a distinct disadvantage when fleeing predators, but experiments by University of California, Berkeley, biologists shows that they exact only a minimal cost in speed or energy – at least in hummingbirds.