Actual and 'optimum' flight speeds: field data reassessed

Abstract

Previously published field observations of the air speeds of 36 species of birds, all observed by the same method (ornithodolite), were compared with estimates of the corresponding minimum power speeds, calculated with a default body drag coefficient of 0.1. This value, which was derived from recent wind tunnel studies, represents a downward revision from default values previously used and leads, in turn, to an upward revision of estimated minimum power speeds. The mean observed air speeds are now distributed around the minimum power speed, rather than in between the speeds for minimum power and maximum range, as they were before. Although the field data do not represent migration, examination of the marginal effects of small changes of speed, on power and lift:drag ratio, indicates that flying at the maximum range speed on migration may not represent an 'optimal' or even a practical strategy and that cruising speeds may be limited by the muscle power available or by aerobic capacity. Caution in constructing 'optimisation' theories is indicated.