I remember seeing a video from the 80s about how the behavior is emergent - they made a computer program that replicated how birds fly by stating just a few axioms like don't fall behind and don't be in front.
The idea being that the V takes shape because they want to have a bird in front of them the entire time while one poor bird gets stuck out in front.
Boids: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boids
They take turns! Easily explainable in mechanical terms —lead bird is tired, slows down, another bird overtakes, and the v formation algorithm kicks in again.
But it could be more than that. Maybe the lead bird vocalizes or signals that they want to swap out, and some type of social status determines the order, with disputes resolved by wing flap aggression. Or maybe not.
If, as Jane’s Addiction and many sf authors have imagined, we’re being kept as pets by aliens, much of our behavior would look rules-based, unthinking and reactive.
>The idea being that the V takes shape because they want to have a bird in front of them the entire time while one poor bird gets stuck out in front.
I imagine they take turns like bicyclists do, right?