爲什麼野鴨呈V字飛行?
Why Do Ducks Fly In A V?
爲什麼野鴨呈V字飛行？
Ducks tend to fly in a V formation when they travel in groups. It's a pretty common sight if you live in an area with ducks, or live within the path of their migration pattern. But why do they do this, is there a scientific reason behind it?
野鴨成羣飛的時候，愛排成V字。如果你住的地方有野鴨生活或者正好處於野鴨遷徙路線，就會經常看到它們這麼飛。但這樣飛行有什麼科學依據嗎？
There are actually a few reasons for their curious flight formations. The first is that it helps ducks and geese to conserve energy during long migrations. Excluding the individual leading the group, each bird trailing behind the other benefits from a reduction in wind resistance. The birds are deliberately tailgating each other. It's the concept of drafting, best known to those gutsy people who drive close behind semis on the freeway to stay out of the wind and boost their fuel efficiency. Race cars in NASCAR do this as well.
它們這樣飛其實有多重原因。首先，這樣飛可以讓野鴨或者天鵝在漫漫遷徙途中保持體力。除了帶頭那隻，剩下的鳥都尾隨着前一隻，這樣可以減小風力阻礙。它們是故意這麼飛的。那些大膽的賽車手在高速公路上也追着前一輛這麼開，來加快燃料功率。全國運動汽車競賽協會的競技賽上選手也經常這麼開。
The next time you see ducks or geese flying in a V, watch them for a bit to see if the bird out front changes positions. Whichever one is up front is working the hardest, will make a strategic switch. The leader will drop back – usually all the way back, where wind drag is lowest, and a rested duck will come to the front. While there is no single, unchanging leader for a V of birds on the move, it is the oldest, experienced individuals who are calling the navigational shots, using the sun and the stars at night to orient themselves and stay on course.
所以，下次你在看到鳥類呈V字飛行，注意觀察下帶頭的鳥是不是經常換。如果最前面的鳥飛累了，它們會換位置。通常，最前面的鳥會順着風力飛到最後，後面的鳥則跟上來打頭陣。呈V形飛翔的鳥羣，帶頭的鳥都會變換位置。但是，通常也是最有經驗、能夠利用太陽和星星判斷方位的老鳥帶頭。
The second reason for birds to fly in formation is that this orientation allows the birds to communicate more easily. The V formation provides the birds with good visual contact of each other to keep the flock together. This communication keeps the flock together and minimizes the possibility of losing birds along the way as the formation crosses vast distances during migration.
鳥兒呈V字飛行的另一個原因，是因爲這樣方便它們交流。V形可以讓每隻鳥都能看到對方。這樣的組合可以保持鳥羣完整，在漫長旅途中防止有鳥兒掉隊。
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