Guess my weight
One of the problems of deduction is that one has to draw inferences from other facts. If I ask you to guess at the weight of an object, you will try to look at the size and the density of the object. You will then try to relate that to something that you are familiar with. This is usually correct until the relation is incorrect and then things start to get interesting.
One thing films like to show some supernatural flying creature picking up human and flying away. This looks scary but in real life, this is not possible. Eagle and other raptors do grab prey in mid flight but only if the prey is relatively light to the raptor's body weight. If the prey is too heavy, the raptor will kill the prey and then feast on the prey. Even if it is strong enough, it will kill the prey before proceeding to fly off with the prey.
To snatch a prey in mid flight, the raptor has to fly at a sufficiently fast speed before it grabs the prey. Once the prey is grabbed, it will have to increase the power to its wings in order to stay airborne. (That is one thing missing in the films, once a person is grabbed, the man-sized monster does not increase its wing beat noticeably even though the payload has increased.)
Before you think that eagles have a supernatural ability to estimate the weight of the prey, you have to understand that the knowledge is gained from experience (and surviving mistakes). Although it is believed that only waterfowls are able to take off from water, most flying birds that hunt fishes do have the ability to do the same. Landing in deep water without webbed feet is not a death sentence for most flying birds.
Look at this Grey Heron and guess its weight.
Now, look at its nest on rather slender branches.
I believe that you will be revising your estimate downwards. (Hint: It can be less than a supermarket chicken that is plucked and gutted)
One thing films like to show some supernatural flying creature picking up human and flying away. This looks scary but in real life, this is not possible. Eagle and other raptors do grab prey in mid flight but only if the prey is relatively light to the raptor's body weight. If the prey is too heavy, the raptor will kill the prey and then feast on the prey. Even if it is strong enough, it will kill the prey before proceeding to fly off with the prey.
To snatch a prey in mid flight, the raptor has to fly at a sufficiently fast speed before it grabs the prey. Once the prey is grabbed, it will have to increase the power to its wings in order to stay airborne. (That is one thing missing in the films, once a person is grabbed, the man-sized monster does not increase its wing beat noticeably even though the payload has increased.)
Before you think that eagles have a supernatural ability to estimate the weight of the prey, you have to understand that the knowledge is gained from experience (and surviving mistakes). Although it is believed that only waterfowls are able to take off from water, most flying birds that hunt fishes do have the ability to do the same. Landing in deep water without webbed feet is not a death sentence for most flying birds.
Look at this Grey Heron and guess its weight.
Now, look at its nest on rather slender branches.
I believe that you will be revising your estimate downwards. (Hint: It can be less than a supermarket chicken that is plucked and gutted)
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