Meeting Abstract

83.5  Friday, Jan. 7  Leg thrust forces in Zebra finches during take-off and landing on non-level perches PROVINI, P.*; ABOURACHID, A.; Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris France; Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris France provini@mnhn.fr

Take-off and landing are crucial components of birds flight. As few studies have focused on the function of the hindlimbs during those two phases, we investigated the role of the legs in generating propulsion during take-off and their ability to dampen impact forces during landing, in a small passerine bird. Zebra finches were filmed during short distance free-flights between two perches situated at different heights. The lower perch was filmed by multiple synchronized high speed video cameras and the reaction forces involved during take-off and landing on the perch were measured. We compared the leg thrust forces during take-off and landing and correlated it with the velocity and kinematics of the bird, determined from our video recordings. These results will help us understand the physical constraints involved in take-off and landing on non-level perches and will lead to a better understanding of the role of the hind limbs in these two phases of flight. This may provide novel insights into the dynamics associated with the arboreal and ground-up theories on the origin of flight.