Why do ducks geese etc fly in uneven v formation?

Answer 1

coz there gay

If they flew in a straight line, all the ducks except the front one would be flying in the wake turbulence of the duck in front. By flying in a V, each duck has mostly undisturbed air in which to fly, plus, the disturbed air in which they DO fly is the beneficial portion of the wing tip vortex of the bird ahead, giving them some "free" lift and requiring marginally less than full power to maintain flight. Also, by flying in a V shape, they can keep an eye on the leader at the same time. For a scholarly paper on the subject, see the link bellow.

Answer 2

I found 10 photos of small flocks of geese at random. In six of them, the number of birds was odd; in the other four even. I would conclude that geese fly in odd number flocks about half the time.

However, I also noted that when they are in V-formation in an even numbered flock (or skein, as it is known) there appears to be an odd number since the sides are uneven due to one bird having to be the leader. That may be what you have been noticing.

Answer 3

The geese fly in an uneven V formation because it helps the geese rotate to be the leader!

Answer 4

it conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance