The feathers of owls possess three adaptations that are held responsible for their quiet flight. These are a comb-like structure at the leading edge of the wing, fringes at the trailing edge and a soft and porous upper surface of the wing. To investigate the effect of the first adaptation, the leading edge comb, on the aerodynamic performance and the noise _ generation during gliding flight, wind tunnel measurements were performed on prepared wings of a Barn owl (Tyto alba) with and without the comb. In agreement with existing studies it was found that the leading edge comb causes a small increase in lift. Additionally, at high angles of attack the results from the acoustic measurements indicate that the presence of the comb leads to a reduction in gliding flight noise. Although this reduction is relatively small, it further helps the owl to approach its prey during the final stages of the landing phase.
展开▼
