Come fly with me in shape of a V

TOUR de France cyclists exploit the slipstreams of their competitors in ‘le peloton’.

By ploughing a channel through the air, a leader makes it easier for the one behind him. Large birds fly in V formation for the same reason. However, according to a paper just published in Nature, there’s more to formation flying than mere jostling for position.

The northern bald ibis is a large, black bird with a long, pink bill, curved downwards like a curlew’s. It once bred throughout southern Europe, as far north as Germany. Numbers began falling in the 16th century and have continued to do so ever since; excessive hunting and habitat destruction are blamed. Until recently, there were colonies in Morocco, Algeria, Turkey and Syria. Only the Moroccan ones remain.