Gliding Animals

Albatrosses are among the largest flying birds. They are super efficient in the air and travel long distances with two techniques - dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into the wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. This maneuver allows the bird to cover almost 1,000 km/d (620 mi/d) without flapping its wings. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward ...
side of large waves. Albatrosses have high glide ratios, meaning that for every meter they drop, they can travel forward 22 m (72 ft). Waved albatross are spectacular flyers, perhaps even the most famous. They can fly for hours without stalling and they do this by dynamic soaring. The wind speed near the surface of the sea is much lower than about 50 ft (15 m) in the air. The Waved albatross uses this to its advantage by gliding at speed into the wind. As the bird glides higher it loses most of its ground speed because it is gliding into a wind of a higher speed. However, its air speed does not fall, enabling it to glide continuously. Less

The Sugar glider is a small nocturnal gliding possum. as its name implies, this animal favors sugary foods such as sap and nectar and is able to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel. The Sugar glider has a pair of gliding membranes, known as patagia, which extend from its forelegs to its hind legs. When the legs are stretched out, this membrane allows the animal to glide a considerable distance. It typically glides in order to ...
reach food and evade predators. Each glide lasts 50 meters (164 feet) or more. For every 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) traveled horizontally when gliding, the Sugar glider falls 1 m (3 ft 3 in). Steering is controlled by moving limbs and adjusting the tension of the gliding membrane; for example, turning left, it will lower the left forearm below the right. Females of this species have pouches in which they carry their newborn young; within the pouch, the young are separated by the septum and thus are protected them from landing forces. Less

Bats are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight and are more agile in flight than most birds. They are flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium. The wings of bats are much thinner and consist of more bones than the wings of birds, allowing bats to maneuver more accurately than the latter, and fly with more lift and less drag. By folding the wings in toward their bodies on the upstroke, ...
they save 35 percent energy during flight. The membranes are delicate, tearing easily, but can regrow, and small tears heal quickly. The surface of the wings is equipped with touch-sensitive receptors on small bumps called Merkel cells, also found on human fingertips. These sensitive areas are different in bats, as each bump has a tiny hair in the center, making it even more sensitive and allowing the bat to detect and adapt to changing airflow; the primary use is to judge the most efficient speed at which to fly, and possibly also to avoid stalls. By the way, the fastest bat is the Mexican free-tailed bat; this little creature can achieve a ground speed of 162 km/h (101 mph)! Less

Storks typically use soaring, gliding flight, which conserves energy. For example, when flying, the Wood stork uses two different techniques. When it is not sufficiently warm and clear, such as in the late afternoon or on cloudy days, this stork alternates between flapping its wings and gliding for short periods of time. When it is warm and clear, the bird glides after it gains an altitude of at least 610 meters (2,000 ft) by continuously ...
flapping its wings. It can then glide for distances ranging from 16 to 24 kilometers (9.9 to 14.9 mi). It does not have to flap its wings during this time because the warm thermals are strong enough to support its weight. Because of the energy that is conserved by soaring, the Wood stork usually uses this method to fly to more distant areas. When flying to foraging areas, it averages a speed of about 24.5 kilometers per hour (15.2 mph). In flapping flight, it does 34.5 kilometers per hour (21.4 mph), and about 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph) by gliding. Less

The Greater gliders are large gliding marsupials found in eucalypt forests of Australia. Each side of their bodies has membranes stretching between the elbow and the ankle that give these animals the ability to perform controlled glides. The gliding posture of the Greater gliders is unique among marsupials. The forelimbs are folded so that the wrists are tucked under the chin, giving the patagium a triangular outline when outstretched. These ...
animals regularly glide between high trees and are able to use their tails to assist in steering. They avoid traveling along the ground whenever possible and are slow and clumsy if forced to do so. Less

Despite their name, flying squirrels are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats. They are able to glide from one tree to another with the aid of a patagium, a furred parachute-like skin membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle. It is believed that flying squirrels use triangulation to estimate the distance of the landing area as they often lean out and pivot from side to side before jumping. Once in the air, they ...
form an "X" with their limbs by spreading their long arms forward and out and their long legs backward and out, causing their membrane to stretch into a square-like shape and glide down at angles of 30 to 40 degrees. They maneuver with great efficiency in the air, making 90-degree turns around obstacles if needed. Just before reaching a tree, they raise their flattened tails that abruptly change their trajectory upwards, and point all of their limbs forward to create a parachute effect with the membrane in order to reduce the shock of landing. Although graceful in flight, flying squirrels are very clumsy walkers and if they happen to be on the ground in the presence of danger, they will prefer to hide rather than attempt to escape. Less

Condors are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. There are only two species of condor that exist the Andean condor and the California condor. On the wing the movements of the condor are graceful. Both condors are very large broad-winged soaring birds. The California condors' wingspan can measure up to 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) and its large flight muscles are not anchored by a correspondingly large sternum, which restricts it to ...
being primarily soarer. The bird flaps its wings when taking off from the ground, but after attaining a moderate elevation it largely glides, sometimes going for miles without a single flap of its wings. The California condor is able to fly up to speeds of 90 km/h (56 mph) and as high as 4,600 m (15,100 ft)! Less

This is the world's smallest gliding mammal. It lives in Australia and is named for its long feather-shaped tail. Like other gliding mammals, the Feathertail glider has a patagium stretching between the fore and hind legs. Only reaching the elbows and knees, this is smaller than that of the petaurid gliding possums, although the presence of a fringe of long hairs increases its effective area. They are able to glide as far as 28 m (92 ft), and ...
typically do so three to five times every hour through the night. Feathertail gliders live in trees and only sometimes descend to the ground to forage. They are excellent climbers, able to cling to the smooth trunks of eucalyptus trees. They are even able to climb vertical panes of glass, allowing their feet to function as suction cups. Less

Flying snakes or gliding snakes are mildly venomous and occur in Asia. The combination of forming a C-shape, flattening their abdomens, and making a motion of lateral undulation in the air makes it possible for these snakes to glide in the air, where they also manage to save energy compared to travel on the ground and dodge earth-bound predators. They are able to glide better than flying squirrels and other gliding animals, despite the lack of ...
limbs, wings, or any other wing-like projections. These snakes can glide as far as 100 meters (0.06 miles) through the forests and jungles they inhabit. Less

The Mahogany glider is a nocturnal gliding possum. The animal gets its common name from its mahogany-brown belly and the similar color of its patagium, or gliding membrane. Each night Mahogany gliders travel a considerable distance in search of food. During the day, they shelter in dens in high trees, especially favoring poplar gums and forest red gums. Less