Hummingbirds: They can fly backward
Have you ever seen a bird fly backward? We are not sure. That’s because most birds cannot fly backward because of the structure of their wings. But there is one exception. The only bird which can fly both backward and forward is the hummingbird.
So, how do hummingbirds fly backward?
The most unique behaviour of hummingbirds is their flight. They are acrobatic flyers capable of flying backward and changing directions nearly rapidly. They can hover for an extended period of time.
But, what makes that possible? Well, these birds have a unique wing structure and muscles which gives them a high level of flight control. This is missing in the other birds. Hummingbirds produce 25% of the weight support during an upstroke and 75% during a downstroke; with their wings making figure-eight motions, which allows the bird to easily move backward in the air.
Hummingbirds at a glance
The name, hummingbird, comes from the humming noise their wings make as they beat so fast. Do you know a hummingbird’s wing-flapping rate can reach 80 beats per second, and its heart rate can reach 1,260 beats per minute? Now that's too fast.
May be their small body helps. Hummingbirds are the smallest migrating bird, measuring just 7.5–13 cm in length and 4-8 gm in weight. With a rapid metabolism, hummingbirds also have a long lifespan. Infact, a female broad-tailed hummingbird was recorded to live as long as 12 years old.
Since they move their body so much, they're always hungry! Hummingbirds need to consume around half their own body weight every day, which is mostly made up of nectar, but also small insects and spiders.
Where do they live?
There are more than 350 different types of hummingbirds and all of them live in the Americas. However, they are migratory birds and they spend the winter in Central America before migrating northwards for the breeding season in spring.
The most common hummingbird you would get to see all around in the US is the vibrant ruby-throated one known as Archilochus colubris.
Why can’t birds fly backwards?
Well, a majority of birds are unable to fly backward because of the structure of their wings. They have strong muscles to pull the wing down but much weaker muscles to pull the wings back up so the air around the wing is forced backward pushing the bird forward.
Some birds, such as herons, egrets and flycatchers, can flutter backward for a short distance at best when they sense danger but cannot really fly backward.