Leonardo da Vinci: Codex on the Flight of Birds
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) comes to life again in this special artefact, above all as a gifted natural scientist: His personal notebook of observations and research on the flight of birds, the famous Codice sul volo degli uccelli, was written in 1505–1506 and represents a significant testimony to Leonardo's in-depth study of the phenomenon of bird flight. With his reflections, notes and sketches, he wanted to fathom the physical anatomical aspects of flight, in order to finally design a flying machine himself, with which he probably inspired many more generations of dreamers and inventors. The masterful drawings of the famous polymath and talented Renaissance artist also make this manuscript a true treasure of Leonardo research!
Leonardo da Vinci: Codex on the Flight of Birds
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) is considered to be the most important universal genius of the Italian Renaissance. He busied himself not only with the visual arts, but was also especially passionate about researching natural phenomena. This passion has been transmitted to today in numerous written and graphical pieces of evidence. A particularly interesting and beautiful example thereof is a notebook, which is stored today in the Biblioteca Reale in Turin: the famous Codex on the Flight of Birds.
Research into one of Mankind’s Dreams
To this day, it is one of mankind’s dreams to simply spread one’s wings and float weightlessly through the air like a bird. One of the first people to concern himself with the actual fulfilment of this dream in reality was Leonardo da Vinci. For him it was no reverie, but rather an interplay of physics, weather phenomena, and anatomy that had to be explored. He recorded his observations and thoughts regarding this research in the year 1505–6 in a notebook about the flight of birds.
The Flight of Birds in Drawings and Writings
Leonardo observed the flight paths of birds and thus followed his studies of gravity and the influence of weight taking wind, movement, and anatomy into account. These statements are accompanied by numerous drawings, which record Leonardo’s observations and conclusions in complicated schematic representations. Leonardo pursued plans for a flying machine with moveable “wings” that was supposed to be based on the operating principles of the flight of birds. His studies of this theme were studied in turn by aviation pioneers like Otto Lilienthal and the Wright Brothers. This research into the flight of birds was appended with notes about the mechanics, botany, architectural plans, and water studies for the gardens of Charles d’Amboise’s villa.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Il Codice sul volo degli uccelli
Codex über den Vogelflug
Codex über den Flug der Vögel
Códice sobre el Vuelo de los Pájaros - Type
- Manuscript on paper
- Size / Format
- 34 pages / 21.3 × 15.4 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- 1505–1506
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Illustrations
- Numerous fascinating drawings and studies on the physics and anatomy of bird flight
- Artist / School
- Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
Leonardo da Vinci: Codex on the Flight of Birds
Diagram of a Mechanical Arm
Complete with notes from Leonardo da Vinci’s own hand, which he wrote in mirror-writing like all his notebooks, this is a detailed depiction of a mechanical arm, presumably used for flapping the wing of a flying machine. Two pulleys are shown suspended above the main arm and attached to a cross-member, which in turn powers the wing’s movements. It is obvious from its curved shape and the placement of the joints that this mechanical arm is modelled on the skeletal structure of a bird’s wing.

Leonardo da Vinci: Codex on the Flight of Birds
Instructions for Operating a Flying Machine
Folio 8r has 6 diagrams of birds in flight, which are used to illustrated what to do in various scenarios while flying. As with his other notebooks, the left-handed Leonardo used mirror-image cursive (written entirely backwards and from right to left), various symbols, and shorthand for the text, which has individual paragraphs for each respective drawing.
Each of these simple yet clear images shows a bird maneuvering in flight with lines indicating whether it is dealing with a tailwind or a headwind. They are used to model various situations one might encounter while operating a flying machine. Each scenario is described in the passage to the left of its respective drawing and provided with a solution.

#1 Il Codice sul volo degli uccelli
#2 Il Codice sul volo degli uccelli
Languages: English and French
#3 Il Codice sul volo degli uccelli
Language: Italian
#4 Códice sobre el Vuelo de los Pájaros
Languages: Spanish, Catalan
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