![Snow Geese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Snow_Geese.jpg)
Whiffling is a term used in
ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
to describe the behavior whereby a bird rapidly descends with a zig-zagging,
side-slipping
In jazz improvisation, outside playing describes an approach where one plays over a scale, mode or chord that is harmonically distant from the given chord. There are several common techniques to playing outside, that include side-stepping or ...
motion. Sometimes to whiffle, a bird flies briefly with its body turned upside down but with its neck and head twisted 180 degrees around in a normal position. The
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dy ...
which usually give a bird lift during flying are thereby inverted and the bird briefly plummets toward the ground before this is quickly reversed and the bird adopts a normal flying orientation. This erratic motion resembles a falling leaf, and is used to avoid avian predators or may be used by geese (
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Anatidae
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...
) to avoid a long, slow descent over an area where
wildfowling
Waterfowl hunting (also called wildfowling or waterfowl shooting in the UK) is the practice of hunting ducks, geese, or other waterfowl for food and sport.
Many types of ducks and geese share the same habitat, have overlapping or identical hunt ...
is practised.
The behavior is seen in several species including
lesser yellowlegs
The lesser yellowlegs (''Tringa flavipes'') is a medium-sized shorebird. It breeds in the boreal forest region of North America.
Taxonomy
The lesser yellowlegs was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in ...
(''Tringa flavipes''), the
black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa''), the
northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''),
geese
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...
(e.g.
pink-footed goose
The pink-footed goose (''Anser brachyrhynchus'') is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The nam ...
(''Anser brachyrhynchus'')), three species of
scoter
The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus ''Melanitta''. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills, the females are brown. They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and winter farther south in temperate zones o ...
(''Melanitta''), and other members of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Anatidae
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...
.
References
External links
Goose flies upside-downWhiffling geese: photographs and comments on reasonsSlow-motion video of whiffling geese
{{Ethology
Aerodynamics
Bird flight
Ethology
Geese
Ornithology