Meet The Hummingbird, The Only Bird In The Whole World That Has The Ability To Fly Backwards

If you've ever witnessed a hummingbird hovering, you may have been in awe of their extraordinary physical prowess. In fact, one of a hummingbird's most instinctive behaviors is hovering.

A hummingbird that hovers is literally suspended in midair; although it may appear to be still, its wings are actually beating rapidly. Hummingbirds occasionally hover while feeding, but they seem to favor perching.

This is probably because hovering uses more energy, which makes it less effective. Their distinctive flight pattern, which resembles flying insects more than other birds, holds the key.

The way that most birds flap their wings is in an up-and-down motion, but a hummingbird's pattern involves a lot more motion. Since this flight pattern is very taxing on hummingbird wings, they are extremely strong and stiff to prevent breaking.

Hummingbirds twist their wings as they flap forward and backward. As they hover, the majority of the weight on their wings is supported by their wrists.

Because of this forward-backward flapping pattern, the hummingbird can get around 25% lift on the upstroke and about 75% lift during the downstroke. Hummingbirds are able to fly in reverse too.

In actuality, they are the only bird species worldwide capable of doing this. The same flight abilities that enable hummingbirds to hover also allow them to fly backward.

Again, its distinctive flapping motion allows it to not only hover but also to make small corrections to move in any direction.