Flying Fish Don't Really Fly ... Or Do They?
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
by Chuck Bonner
Hiking With Chuck
We've all heard it so many times that it's just one of those things that's obviously true. But how many of us have actually seen a flying fish and watched what they do? Here are a few observations that might make you question conventional wisdom. Maybe it's more than just gliding.
I've watched flying fish many times. I used to see them all the time when I was in the U.S. Navy and sailing the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and especially the South China Sea. From what I've observed, I think that "obviously true" assessment doesn't do justice to the behavior and abilities of the flying fish. Watch them for a while, and you will see that they don't "just glide."
More remarkably, they can, and in fact they do more often than not, gain power, airspeed, and altitude without reentering the water.
Well, without reentering the water completely.
The lower lobe of the tailfin of every flying fish I ever saw is noticeably larger than the upper lobe. After the fish has nearly lost its initial energy and begins approaching the water, it will usually arch its body to dip this lower fin back into the water, then it shuttles its tail back and forth to gain speed and rise into the air again.
If the water is really dead flat, they just dip their tails into the water wherever they happen to be when they get too low. However, if there is any swell at all, even the long swell in a ripple-free sea, they seem to choose to dip their tails into the water on the "uphill" side of a wave, and so get a "ski-jump" effect that maximizes their altitude.
They can do this repeatedly on a single "flight." I've seen at least five cycles of dip-shuttle-rise that carried a flying fish for more than two hundred yards without returning to the water. I suspect that the limiting factor is either their skin drying out, or their blood oxygen running low. In a pinch, I could imagine a flying fish extending a "flight" for over a half a mile if it needed to.
Do flying fish really fly, or do they just glide? No, it isn't "flying" the same as a bird or a bat or an insect flies, but I think it's a good deal more than "just gliding."
Things I've Read, but Haven't Seen
I've read that there is at least one species of flying fish that flaps its "wings" in flight, but I've never seen it. I've also read that at least some flying fish can use the "ridge lift" of a wave to extend their flight, much as an albatross or a pelican glides, but I can't say as I've seen that either. Nevertheless, I still believe that to say a flying fish "just glides" is understating the truth about this remarkable family of fish.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)How cool is this! I had heard of flying fish, but didn't know how they did it. Thanks for this fun trivia.
hi chuck, i thought this was a well written, interesting article. quite amazing in fact, as i got caught up in trying to picture what your words were saying. i would love to see that. i love nature. hummingbirds are my favorite-it amazes me how they can stay in mid air just by flapping their wings. thanks for sharing, best regards, sue thomSusan, Glad you enjoyed it! I'm working on digitizing some of my ancient slides, and I think I have one or two clear pictures of flying fish. I'll post them on the Web when I can, but I don't anticipate having them available for at least a couple of months yet.
Hi chuck, I'm not into fish, but you made me want to continue reading and you reminded me of how amazingly creative God is. Thanks for shedding some light on some underwater life. :-) Hey, do you know anything about sea horses? They are my most favorite of underwater animals, but I'm too lazy to research them. I just think they are so cute. Blessings to you! TeresaTeresa, I've read a bit about sea horses, and sometimes used to catch them by accident while crabbing. (Now, I'm torn: Do I tell you some things I've read, or do I exhort you not to be lazy? Right!) Teresa, you should research sea horses! You'll find a wealth of information on the Web, beginning with Wikipedia. You may find that you _are_ into fish. (Sea horses are fish.) Happy researching! -Chuck
Ha! I suppose the right thing to do is exhort me not to be lazy. I accept the challenge and I will even let you know what I find, maybe even write an article on what I find :-) Thank you for setting me straight. :-)
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