Dann Pigdon (dannj@alphalink.com.au) wrote:
I once watched a small falcon [...] It literally hung in the air without beating it's wings at all by facing into the wind
And Jim Cunningham (jrccea@bellsouth.net) responded:
Facing into the wind will not help the animal to maintain altitude. Something else must have been going on as well, in order to provide energy for hovering at constant altitude.
I fear that either your misunderstanding Dann or the birds know something you don't. The phenomenon is called "kiting", and I see it all the time on the bluffs above the beaches near Santa Barbara.