The ability of birds resting on telephone wires to stand in
balance without difficulty must have called the attention of
many people. Neither the continuously shifting wind nor the
wires vibrating by force of the wind disturbs this balance. When
we think of the acrobats who work in circuses, only then we can
understand how superior the ability of birds to stand in balance
is. For instance, an acrobat who tries to walk on a steel
tightrope has to use a long stick made up of special substances
in order to poise. This stick gives the acrobat a sort of
balance mechanism and helps him stand on the rope without
falling down. Birds, on the other hand, do not use any kind of
equipment to poise but they are more talented than even the best
acrobat: They can dive floating on air when stand on the wire
and can enable their balance in less than a second. Prof.
Reinhold Necker, a German scientist, has carried out a four-year
research in order to find how birds that behave like a superior
acrobat can stand on a thin wire w