The dark, smudgy streaks on Xavi Bou's photographs suggest the jerky ink tracks created by a malfunctioning printer, but they actually record the various patterns birds trace while flying in flocks.

From geese and pelicans to cranes and cormorants, many birds use a V-shaped flock to master the aerodynamics of long-distance ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Most bird species don’t fly above a few thousand feet in ...