concept

Dynamic soaring

A way of flying that harvests the difference in wind speed at different heights — classically just above the sea, where wind near the surface is slower than wind higher up. By repeatedly wheeling up and diving back down through that wind gradient, the animal extracts energy straight from the wind with almost no flapping — the technique of the albatross, and of the giant extinct seabird Pelagornis. It is one of the few tricks that let the heaviest fliers exist without the muscle power their size would otherwise demand.