Birds looping the loop, Why dont they??

I saw a very strange thing while waiting at Blackwater for my train a few weeks ago.
A 5 bird formation of Cormorants in a very untidy V formation. Suddenly the lead bird pulled stright up, with the untidy formation following in the climb. They then all stalled out, recovered and were in perfect V formation! 😮
Not sure if this is just a random birdy thing, or a way to tidy their formation but it looked kind of neat.
I’ve also seen a 7 bird Cormorant echelon in a perfect `missing bird` formation. 🙂

I prefer Ludwig von Wolfgang Vulture!

There’s a pretty good book that covers questions like this. Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)…

Seconded.

He wrote some other damned good books too.

Regards,

kev35

Perhaps birds dont need to do it becouse there is no real reason to in nature. It would be a waste of energy i suppose. Or is it becouse they cant do physicaly due to the homing instinct built deep within. Something like a mental gyroscope keeping them the right way up???.

Ref France. Im in the early stages of planning for the 7th – 15th April. Been recommended to a campsite in Luc Sur Mer which is about 100 yards from Juno beach. Right in the middle of it all. Must remember to pack my string vest n knotted hanky for my noggin 😀

Loop de loop Moggy, Have been getting in the swing for my D`Day trip in April and just been practicing my rubbish French so must have gone Gaelic for a moment or two

The manoeuvre is simply called a loop 😡

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ9ogFEQrHk

How long to Normandy?

Moggy

Ah…but they do aerobat.

Here is a Lilac Breasted Roller I captured on my trip last October.

Mark

Rollers

Order Coraciiformes Family Coraciidae

The rollers get their name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. They reside in warm climates of the Old World. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one. They are mainly insect eaters. Rollers nest in an unlined hole in a tree or in masonry. [abstracted from Wikipedia]

There’s a pretty good book that covers questions like this. Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)…

Just been watching pigeons falling around the sky in an erratic way but no real loops as such.

Loop de loop Moggy, Have been getting in the swing for my D`Day trip in April and just been practicing my rubbish French so must have gone Gaelic for a moment or two :rolleyes:

What the hell is a ‘loop de loop’ ? :confused:

Tumblers and Rollers (pigeons) do sort of flick loops, one inside and one outside, but I can’t recall which is which.

Lapwings seem to do some pretty neat aeros, I think I have seen them loop, or at worst a half cuban or roll off the top.

Moggy

Ha ha they sound like bodily functions rather than birds. I will look them up 😉

Bird loops

Have you ever soon a tumbler pigeon? or a tippler? perhaps theres something on gergle or you tube? You may then think differently.