The Northern Goshawk and other Accipiters are among the most agile of birds. Their ability to zip through dense forests without flying headfirst into a tree amazes birdwatchers and terrifies the small birds and mammals they prey upon. Anyone who has watched a video of a goshawk manoeuvering its way through holes in hedges and quickly flying through the forest can’t help but wonder how they are able to accomplish such feats. While most birdwatchers are content with feeling amazed by such fancy flying, scientists at MIT have gone about actually studying how Northern Goshawks weave their way through forested habitats without crashing into something.
According to Emilio Frazzoli, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, goshawks can zoom through dense vegetation because they simply fly at appropriate speeds. Well, it’s more complicated than that but they are believed to intuitively know how fast they can fly through a forest without crashing and probably make that decision based on how dense the forest looks. Researchers at MIT are studying this aspect of goshawk behavior is to design programs that help unmanned vehicles more quickly navigate areas that may be cluttered with obstacles.
Have you seen a goshawk in action? Tells us about it in the comments!
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