Answer:
- The creature that moves through the air without flapping its wings is typically a gliding or soaring bird (and related animals) that uses air currents to stay aloft.
Key ideas:
- Gliding and soaring enable flight without continuous wing flapping. The wings are held outstretched and angled to generate lift as air flows over them, while gravity and updrafts provide forward motion and altitude. Common examples include many seabirds and raptors, such as albatrosses and condors, which spend large portions of flight time without flapping (they only flap briefly during takeoff or landing in some cases) [none](javascript:void(0)).
What this entails:
- Gliding: A passive form of flight where the bird or animal uses gravity and aerodynamic lift to remain airborne. Wings are extended and adjusted to optimize lift versus drag, allowing sustained travel with minimal energy expenditure [none](javascript:void(0)).
- Soaring: A specialized gliding strategy that exploits rising air currents (thermals) or wind gradients to gain height and travel long distances with little to no flapping. Albatrosses often use dynamic soaring over the ocean, leveraging differences in wind speed to maintain lift and momentum [none](javascript:void(0)).
- Dynamic soaring: A technique that combines high-speed air interactions with the boundary layer near the surface to extract energy from wind shear, enabling long-distance travel with minimal wingbeat activity, particularly in open oceans [none](javascript:void(0)).
Examples and notes:
- Andean condors and wandering albatrosses are frequently cited as birds that spend extensive time gliding or soaring, flap-minimizing flight, and relying on wind currents or thermals to stay aloft. In some studies, condors flap only a small fraction of their flight time, using thermals and updrafts to rise and glide between them [none](javascript:void(0)).
- The general principle is that flapping is not required for sustained flight in these cases; instead, air currents, wing shape, and flight technique provide the lift and forward motion needed to traverse distances with reduced energy expenditure [none](javascript:void(0)).
If you’d like, I can tailor this explanation to a specific animal or context (e.g., nautical birds, mountain gliding, or human-made gliders) and include a short glossary of terms like lift, drag, thermals, and dynamic soaring. [none](javascript:void(0))
