Published: 05 May 2017 | Last Updated: 31 Jan 2018 13:25:49

Birds of prey visit the Structure and Motion Laboratory for a week of flight analysis. 

Expert bird behaviourists and trainers Lloyd and Rose Buck have brought their knowledge and some members of their bird family to the Royal Veterinary College. For an exciting week they worked alongside an interdisciplinary research team led by Dr Richard Bomphrey to investigate how bird wing shape adapts in response to different wind conditions. Intricately complex data capturing apparatus, including high speed cameras, was employed to collect large amounts of data on these fantastic birds. The species involved included a goshawk, barn owl and raven. The findings of this research could directly inform the engineering of more efficient plane designs, which in turn could lead to the manufacturing of more environmentally friendly, fuel efficient planes. 

Visit Lloyd and Rose's website for more information on the various projects and work they do with their animals.