News
Our work features regularly in online, broadcast, and print media. A feed of recent stories follows below, together with news of recent activities and upcoming opportunities.
Geometric analysis reveals how birds mastered flight
Quanta Magazine. 3 August 2022. In a rectangular room draped in camouflage netting, four Harris’ hawks took turns flying back and forth between grass-covered perches while scientists recorded their every biomechanical flutter.... [read on]
Hawks forward dive and then swoop up to hit the brakes before landing
New Scientist. 29 June 2022. A diving manoeuvre used by raptors to slow down before landing on a branch could improve technology for flying and perching drones... [read on]
Bird-like robots could assist in medical emergencies and hunt down drones
Horizon Magazine, EU. 1 June 2021. A bird flaps its wings, glides using air currents and then smoothly descends to perch on a pole. But this is not just any bird, it’s a robot bird. And robots like these could in the next decade be used to respond to emergencies or to hunt down drones posing a threat to safety or security... [read on]
Falcons Are as Fast as Racecars. Pity their Poor Prey.
Washington Post, USA. 12 April 2018. Peregrine falcons, apex predators that hunt near rock cliffs and skyscrapers, strike like a stock market crash: fast and hard. The birds fly to great heights, then tuck their wings and plummet.... [read on]
Research Reveals Exactly Why Peregrine Falcons Are so Deadly
National Audubon Society, USA. 13 April 2018. When it comes to hunting on the fly, nothing beats the Peregrine Falcon. By folding its wings in to minimize drag, the boomerang-shaped birds can hurtle thousands of feet through the air at speeds of close to 200 miles per hour... [read on]
Peregrine Falcons Attack Like Missiles to Grab Prey Midair, Scientists Find
National Public Radio, USA. 4 December 2017. Peregrine falcons, known for making spectacular dives to snatch smaller birds midair, conduct their aerial assaults in much the same way that military missiles hit moving targets... [read on]
Peregrine Falcon Hunting Behaviour and Drone-Hunting Drones
BBC World Service, UK. 7 December 2017. By analysing how a peregrine falcon chases its prey in flight, scientists have discovered that they track their prey in the same way as tracking missiles lock on to their target. This clever way of hunting on the wing is now being copied and applied to drone technology, as a way of making drone-hunting drones to try and thwart the growing number of crimes committed by these flying machines... [listen here]
Oxford Scientists Just Solved the Mystery of How Mosquitos Fly Using Super High-Speed Cameras
Business Insider, UK. 19 April 2017. Scientists have solved the mystery of mosquito flight using super high-speed cameras and computer analysis to understand the unique mechanisms the insect uses to stay airborne... [read on]