Biology Question #8836
Mrs. Yoe's Grade Ones, a 6 year old female from Innerkip Ontario asks on November 2, 2012,
Why do geese fly in a V?
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The answer
Barry Shell
answered on November 3, 2012
They do this for efficiency. When a bird flies, their wings create an updraft right behind the bird--directly behind the wing tip. So another bird can take advantage of this and get a bit more lift to make it easier to fly. That's why birds do not fly directly behind the bird in front but a bit off to the side to get the wing tip updraft effect. This eventually makes a group of birds form a V formation. You can get more details about
why birds fly in a V formation on Wikipedia.
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