So this is a video of what is apparently the first artificial bird, created by the German company Festo.
What makes bird flight so special is that fact that birds generate both lift and propulsion with their wings. A plane’s wings only generate lift, the engines generate the propulsion. I am by no means an expert, but it seems like birds accomplish this by twisting their wings while flapping, which both maintains a constant stream of air over their wings, providing lift, and propels them forward. Way cool.
After you watch the above video and let the soothing sales video techno lull you to into a mid-morning stupor, you should absolutely check out Festo’s making-of documentary; it’s quite good. It also shows off a number of the other projects created by the same group, which include some lighter-than-air vehicles based on sea creatures. Worth watching for that bit alone.