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Pied babbler ?

Penguins?

I think it is some or other water bird like a coot or something.

Hi all
Been a while. Got tangled up in the rat race.
Think big on the birds

Ostrich

Well done Imberbe! You are it. . .

I will not be able to post for a few days ...

First to post is IT!

Why do birds of prey spiral when moving in an upward direction in the sky?

To stay in the hot wind currents that goes upwards.

Yes, Rooies, but then why spiral - why not just float upwards on extended wings?

I will take a wild guess here. The updrafts doesn't stay in the same place and moves constantly. The birds must go in circles to test and exploit the best currents.

Intelligent guess, Rooies, but not exactly correct.

The updraft can be likened to a bubble of air which is created when you boil water. The bubble starts at the bottom and then moves upward, eventually detaching itself from the area where it started. It can also move horisontally across the landscape at the same time.

Though it is much bigger than the boiling water bubble, it remains rather confined and the birds needs to keep within this updraft to get the lift. To achieve this, it needs to spiral within the bubble. Some birds are not able to spiral in such a confined space and can therefore not use the updrafts effectively.

IB :clap: