Lesser scaup - winged water walker.

Think for a moment about being in the water.  You and I can bob about in a lake with 2% of our body sticking out of it (I checked - it's true).  It's slightly better in saltwater where its density gives us a little more buoyancy.  Now consider ducks or any other bird that takes to a liquid environment.  

Birds have numerous adaptations that allow them to float with about 75% of their mass above water.  Feathers trap air and repel water; they also have hollow components that facilitate a very low density.  Most birds (not all) have hollow bones (pneumatized bones).  There are numerous air spaces throughout these structures that maintain their robustness.  Add to that the presence of nine air sacks within their abdominal cavity and you have a creature that can practically walk on water.

In fact, given a bit of speed, they can.  I photographed the lesser scaup last year as it sped across the water preparing to take to wing.  The webbed feet allowed it to push off the water's surface while the beating wings added lift.  The three factors in combination (wings, feet, and low density) allow birds to skim briskly across a pond using only a few short strides to get airborne.  Some birds can explode out of the water with a single propulsive force allowing them to flee from potential danger.

You have probably seen movies of "flying machines" in the days before the Wright brothers.  Huge metallic beasts that have all the charisma of lead flapping about in futility.  Wings are not the only factor of birds that allows them to fly.  I wonder if anyone back then ever considered a duck, sitting on a pond, and how magnificent its design is to allow such a thing to happen.  We can all learn something from nature, even today.  Just saying.

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