Underwater Rockets | National Geographic

may in Lancaster sound in northern
Canada and the thick-billed murre gather
for their annual Spring Fling all you
can eat fish fest if you were to judge
this bird by how it flies yet have to
say it’s no great shakes compared to
other similar animal aviators you know
small wings big body it makes some
maneuvers challenging so why should you
care if hundreds of thousands of
thick-billed muirs gather here in
Lancaster sound because as mediocre as
these birds are at landing that’s how
spectacular they are underwater with
their short flipper like wings the
mirrors can plummet to a depth of 300
feet and stay underwater for up to three
minutes at a time
the best show of all is the muirs on
their way back up the air trapped in
their feathers expands allowing them to
rock it to the surface in a jet trail
above us see there are actually great
aviators they just do their best climb
under water