Kingfishers most often dive into the water parallel to the rays of the sun; that is, they dive in from the East in the morning and from the West in the afternoon.
2007-07-31 02:41:48 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
basically, when the bird comes in from the direction of the sun the fish cannot see it very easily and won't flee, especially when you consider that any silhouette will be scattered on the water's uneven surface.
the same tactic is used by dog-fighting pilots.
2007-07-31 02:51:37 · answer #1 · answered by throbbin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Confused is partially right. As any fighter pilot knows, it's better to attack the enemy aircraft with the sun behind; so that the enemy, looking into the sun, cannot see the attacker. And the other half of the coin, the attacker isn't looking into the sun; so he is not blinded by it. The Kingfisher evolved because this strategy worked and it was able to stay well fed.
By the way, in that text you read...did it say anything about where the Kingfisher aims. Did it tell you that the KF does not aim directly at where it sees the fish? Did it tell you why it does not aim directly at the fish?
It has to do with the so-called index of refraction, which is a measure of the speed of light in water versus the speed of light in air (vacuum). And because of this index, the fish isn't where it appears to be in the water. Somehow, the KF has figured this out.
2007-07-31 12:17:56 · answer #2 · answered by oldprof 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
im not too good at all this type of stuff, but i think it would reflect off the fish's scales so the fisher could pinpoint the fish before diving. i dont think they dive with their eyes open, so it would be good for them to have a fairly good idea of where their target was.
2007-07-31 09:48:25 · answer #3 · answered by Shayde 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋