Leonardo da Vinci’s bird-inspired flapping-flight machine is called an ornithopter.
The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” It describes an aircraft that flies by flapping wings, rather than by using fixed wings like an airplane or rotating blades like a helicopter. Leonardo made many studies of birds and bats and designed several machines based on their wing movements.
His ornithopter concepts included frameworks, wings, and mechanical systems intended to transfer human power to the wings. None became a proven human-powered aircraft. Human muscles do not provide enough power for a machine of the proposed size and weight to imitate bird flight effectively.
Leonardo’s work was nevertheless important because it combined observation of living creatures with mechanical experimentation. His drawings explored lift, balance, wing shape, and the relationship between anatomy and motion, even when the proposed machines were impractical.