Flight performance of great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis suggests sufficient muscle capacity for adaptive speed adjustment.

ABSTRACT: Power required to fly for a bird generally follows a U-shaped function of airspeed, with higher cost at both low and high speeds. Because power required increases with body mass faster than power available from flight muscles, larger birds may experience restricted flight speed ranges and climbing capabilities. Previous studies found limited flight performance in cormorants. Adapted for both flight and sub-surface swimming, they trade off larger flight muscles for powerful leg muscles used for diving. Our study tested whether the flight performance of greater cormorants is constrained by measuring airspeed under various seasonal and wind conditions. If flight muscles severely limit the range of flight speeds, cormorants would not be able to adopt ecologically relevant speeds between season

SUBMITTER: Hedenstrom A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12813668 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature