Scientists solve gravity-defying bird beak mystery
MIT researchers found that phalaropes depend on a surface interaction known as contact angle hysteresis to propel drops of water containing prey upward to their throats. Photo / Robert Lewis
Scientists solve gravity-defying bird beak mystery
May 16, 2008 | User rating: 4.2 / 5 after 21 vote(s)
As Charles Darwin showed nearly 150 years ago, bird beaks are exquisitely adapted to the birds' feeding strategy. A team of MIT mathematicians and engineers has now explained exactly how some shorebirds use their long, thin beaks to defy gravity and transport food into their mouths.
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