Professor C. Lloyd Morgan of University College, Bristol, England, gave an interesting lecture in Harvard 1 last evening on "The Flight of Birds." The lecture, which was well attended, was illustrated with stereopticon views.
After first comparing the skeletons and wings of birds with those of insects and bats, and tracing the different stages of development from the simplest species of insects, Professor Morgan gave a detailed explanation of a bird's wing. He showed that the wing muscles and the heavy bones are at the bottom of the body and the lungs and air-cells at the top, so that the bird, ballasted as it is, naturally rights itself when in air. The feathers of the wing are divided into primary and secondary feathers. In all swift flying birds the primary or outer feathers of the wing are "feathered" or turned edgewise on the recover so as to offer less resistance.
Experiments with young birds which have never flown show that flight is instinctive. Professor Morgan described a series of experiments which he made, proving this. With the aid of his lantern slides he also illustrated the developement of flight in all orders of birds, beginning with the highest development as shown in the swallow and ending with the penquin and the auk.
Read more in News
Notice.Recommended Articles
-
Safari Leader Seeks Recruits To Nab Rare Birds for YaleThere is a man going around town taking names for a Belgian Congo safari to capture rare birds for a
-
BARBOUR LISTS MUSEUM GAINSServicemen in many parts of the world are adding to the collections of animals, fishes, birds, insects, and reptiles in
-
No HeadlineAny improvements in methods of instruction in any courses not exclusively "lecture" courses, which will add variety and interest to
-
HARVRD SHOOTING CLUB.Eight members of the club entered matches at Walunut Hill Thursday. The first two events were well contested, and the
-
Lab Rat of the Week: Brian D. FarrellBrian D. Farrell, who is a biology professor, curator of Entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, combines his diverse interests in science and music in his teaching.