Kylie Elliot /channels/taxonomy/term/7579/all en Why guillemot chicks leap from the nest before they can fly /channels/news/why-guillemot-chicks-leap-nest-they-can-fly-266829 <p>Before they have the wing span to actually permit them to fly, young guillemots (also known as murres) leap hundreds of metres off towering cliffs and flutter down towards the sea, guided by their fathers. Scientists have long wondered why these tiny chicks make this remarkable leap, hoping to avoid the rocks below them, in what seems an unlikely survival strategy for a species.</p> Thu, 09 Mar 2017 15:22:34 +0000 webfull 126030 at /channels