Leonardo da Vinci’s 1489 human-powered flapping-wing flying-machine design is commonly called an ornithopter.
The word ornithopter comes from Greek roots meaning “bird” and “wing.” Leonardo studied birds closely and sketched machines that would imitate their wing movements. His designs used a pilot’s arms and legs to operate mechanical wings, reflecting his belief that careful observation of nature could guide engineering.
Leonardo’s ornithopter was never built as a practical aircraft, and a person could not have generated enough power to fly it in the proposed way. That makes it different from his aerial screw, which used a rotating helical sail rather than flapping wings. Both designs are important in the history of flight because they show Leonardo exploring several possible methods centuries before powered aviation became possible.
Modern ornithopters are real experimental aircraft, usually using engines or lightweight mechanisms rather than human muscle alone. Leonardo’s sketches are therefore best understood as imaginative engineering studies, not working airplanes.