John Bois wrote:
>
snipped
> And by the way, the ability of birds like pigeons to make vertical
> escapes--made possible by the tail--gives them some immunity to predation.
> Inasmuch as they can allow predators to get closer, they can also spend
> more time foraging.
Quite true. They can climb at about 490 feet per minute (over 8 fps
vertical) for short bursts.
Jim