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Journal of Experimental Biology 135,253-264 (1998)
Published by Company of Biologists 1998

Empirical Estimates of Body Drag of Large Waterfowl and Raptors

C. J. PENNYCUICK 1, HOLLIDAY H. OBRECHT III 2, and MARK R. FULLER 2

1 Department of Biology, University of Miami, PO Box 249118, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
2 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD 20708, USA

To whom reprint requests should be addressed.

Measurements of the body frontal area of some large living waterfowl (Anatidae) and raptors (Falconiformes) were found to vary with the two-thirds power of the body mass, with no distinction between the two groups. Wind tunnel measurements on frozen bodies gave drag coefficients ranging from 0.25 to 0.39, in the Reynolds number range 145 000 to 462 000. Combining these observations with those of Prior (1984), which extended to lower Reynolds numbers, a practical rule is proposed for choosing a value of the body drag coefficient for use in performance estimates.

Key words: bird, body, drag, wind tunnel

Accepted on October 7, 1987






© The Company of Biologists Ltd 1998