Up, up, and away

 

Up, up, and away

Why do birds fly upwards when escaping from confinement?

The clearest answer is that gaining height is an instinctive response to danger from predators. Most threats originate from ground level, though there are exceptions. For example, the sparrowhawk ambushes weaker, smaller birds on the ground, when they are feeding, or when they are flying.

Flying up increases the chance of creating distance between predator and prey.

Small birds flap their wings rapidly to push air down against the ground or their perch, and that creates lift. Larger birds drop down from cliff tops or tree perches, then flap their wings to maintain height. Some, like swans and geese run along the water surface to gather speed then take off, often into the wind.