How do birds fly?
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If you could fly like a bird, where would you want to go?
What about...?
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Transcript
How can a bird lift up and zoom through the sky?
A bird flaps its wings down hard. The air pushes back and lifts the bird up.
Its wide wings spread the air as it moves forward. This helps the bird stay up in the sky.
A bird uses its tail to turn and slow down. Its feathers help its wings catch the air.
So that's why birds can fly. Their wings push on air, and the air lifts them!
For grown-ups: the science
Birds flap and shape their wings to push air down, and the air helps lift them up.
Bird flight comes from aerodynamic forces. Flapping wings push air downward and backward, creating lift and thrust; wing shape and forward motion also create pressure differences that add lift. Tail feathers help with steering, balance, and braking, while flight feathers form an effective air-catching surface.