Comparative Power Curves Critique

Due to using intermediate flight speeds for calibration purposes, pectoralis power data for cockatiels and doves is overestimated at slow speeds and underestimated at fast speeds. A follow-up study could address this issue by using other calibration parameters that do not interfere with slow and fast speed data for pectoralis power. Apart from the pectoralis muscles, data from other relevant wing muscles was not recorded in this study, and the role of the tail in reducing power requirements at slow speeds was unaddressed. This could be easily solved by employing sonomicrometry and other techniques in the rest of the muscles involved with flight, and by analyzing the bird’s use of its tail when flying at slow speeds. Finally, the model struggled to accurately measure drag at faster speeds due to a gap in the knowledge of the components of total drag. This would require further studies in the aerodynamics of flight, perhaps by employing more advanced biophysics software or using new lab techniques that record the components of total drag.