ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2016
The physiological basis of bird flight.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 162 citations in OpenAlex.
- Variation in Bird Gut Microbiota Across Dietary Guilds and Migratory Strategies.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- A transition toward flightlessness in Mallards, Indian Runner Ducks, and their hybrid offspring.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Effects of Sodium Butyrate on Digestive Metabolism, Blood Gas Parameters and Blood Biochemical Indices in Tumbler Pigeons Based on Untargeted Metabolomics.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Critical innovations in the assembly of the modern flight apparatus in Early Cretaceous birds.iScience · 2026Article
- Origins of Avian Hyperactive Mitochondria, Genome Compaction, and Air-Sac Physiology in Early Theropods During the Carnian Pluvial Episode.Journal of developmental biology · 2026Review
- Integrating Lab- and Field-Based Approaches to Decipher Individuals' Response to Anthropogenic Change.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Blood mitochondrial metabolism predicts flight performance without lasting effects of early-life thyroid hormones.iScience · 2026Article
- Aerial and ground locomotion of winged drones powered by a single actuator.npj Robotics · 2026Article
- Migration-driven microbial adaptation and ecological spillover in birds.ISME communications · 2026Review
- Avian GCGR-mediated continuous fat utilization offers perspectives for obesity treatment.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Myo-inositol is a key regulator of avian metabolism: From mechanisms to seasonal behavior.Science advances · 2025Article
- Linking performance to powerhouse: mitochondrial aerobic metabolism in blood cells reflects flight endurance of house sparrows (Biology letters · 2025Article
- Forelimb feathering, soft tissues, and skeleton of the flying dromaeosaurid Microraptor.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Detour migration to circumvent the Himalayas in the Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus.Movement ecology · 2025Article
- Genomic Analysis Suggests That Mitonuclear Coevolution Proceeds Over Rapid Timescales in the Amazonian Pipra Manakin Complex.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Wing extension-flexion coupled aeroelastic effects improve avian gliding performance.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Article
- Birds With Distinct Ecological Traits Show Varied Haemoglobin Adaptations Along Elevation Gradients.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Why the superb physiological capacity of birds matters.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Effects of different metabolizable energy levels on apparent nutrient digestibility and metabolism, blood biochemical indicators, and fecal flora diversity in racing pigeons undergoing exercise training.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Flapping flight is energetically more costly than running, although it is less costly to fly a given body mass a given distance per unit time than it is for a similar mass to run the same distance per unit time. This is mainly because birds can fly faster than they can run. Oxygen transfer and transport are enhanced in migrating birds compared with those in non-migrators: at the gas-exchange regions of the lungs the effective area is greater and the diffusion distance smaller. Also, migrating birds have larger hearts and haemoglobin concentrations in the blood, and capillary density in the flight muscles tends to be higher. Species like bar-headed geese migrate at high altitudes, where the availability of oxygen is reduced and the energy cost of flapping flight increased compared with those at sea level. Physiological adaptations to these conditions include haemoglobin with a higher affinity for oxygen than that in lowland birds, a greater effective ventilation of the gas-exchange surface of the lungs and a greater capillary-to-muscle fibre ratio. Migrating birds use fatty acids as their source of energy, so they have to be transported at a sufficient rate to meet the high demand. Since fatty acids are insoluble in water, birds maintain high concentrations of fatty acid-binding proteins to transport fatty acids across the cell membrane and within the cytoplasm. The concentrations of these proteins, together with that of a key enzyme in the β-oxidation of fatty acids, increase before migration.This article is part of the themed issue 'Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'.
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