Meeting Abstract

20.3  Friday, Jan. 4  Squeezing through: strategies for navigating tight spaces in flight WILLIAMS, C.D.*; BIEWENER, A.A.; Harvard Univ., Boston; Harvard Univ., Boston charleswilliams@fas.harvard.edu

Navigating through confined spaces is one of the more impressive tasks flying animals can accomplish. We presented pigeons (C. livia) trained to navigate through a field of vertical obstacles with an evenly spaced array of vertical bars. The spacing between these bars was altered in successive trials; pigeons successfully navigated through gaps between 2 and 6 body widths (13 and 31 cm). At wider spacings body roll was used to pass between the obstacles. However, at spacings below 26 cm, one of two strategies was employed, the wings were either: 1) held at the top of the upstroke for the time required to pass through the gap, or 2) folded back at the wrist just before passing through the gap. This first strategy was employed in 71% of the trials (n=52 runs) and may provide greater control authority upon reaching the unobstructed space, as a new wingstroke may be immediately initiated. The second strategy was employed in the other 29% of trials, and may be a backup for when the timing of the wingstroke cycle relative to the approaching obstacles did not permit pausing at the top of the upstroke. (ONR N0014-10-1-0951)