Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Metal-Feathered Macaw Viability Part 1: How Can It Fly?

+0
−0

More posts from this thread will be linked here:

Metal-Feathered Macaw Viability Part 2: Best Wing Shape?

Info

I'm designing a macaw that has metal feathers, claws, and a metal beak--to be particular, steel. To start with, assume a regular anatomy/physiology of a macaw+steel feathers, claws, and beak.

The growing beak/claws/feathers are pure steel, all the way through. They have the same shape and structure as regular feathers (barbs, strands, etc.)

Question:

Given the increase in weight due to this metal, what physiological/anatomical changes would be required to still permit flight with these modifications? The bird still needs to be able to fly, but I suspect it will not be able to do so for as long as a normal macaw.

By "flight" I mean take off and maneuver under its own power. No pushing it off a cliff or making it "glide" like a flying squirrel. Actual flight.

Don't regard the way the macaw grows the feathers or gets the steel it needs. It just grows them. This is about the aerodynamics.

Please don't write handwavium/it's magic answers or comments. I want to develop this part scientifically and realistically. It's tagged as science-based, not magic.


Thank you to the Sandbox for helping grow this question.


History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/115491. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

0 comment threads

0 answers

Sign up to answer this question »