Tagged: hovering

The Unique Abilities of Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds display exquisite aerial shows that no other birds can imitate. Their anatomical advantage allows them to maneuver their tiny bodies in such intricate ways, like those of an Olympic gymnast; they are able to fly backwards, belly up, and make swift, agile movements during flight. All these unique motions are results of the hummingbirds […]

Pigeon Power, Dynamic Wings Improve Capabilities

Many people look at pigeons as a nuisance, defecating on cars and statues while causing general chaos in many cities across the globe.  These “rats with wings,” however, do have a very interesting way in which they fly, by utilizing very dynamic wings to adjust their flight speed and even “hover” in a way.  This […]

Hummingbird’s Wake

One of my favorite things about spring and summer is lying in an open field watching the clouds go by. Every once and a while a plane will go by leaving an enormous wake of what looks like white clouds behind it. Only recently did I learn that these cloud trails are caused by vortexes of […]

It’s a bird. No it’s an insect. No, wait, its a hummingbird!

When we are young, we classify everything into very black and white catagories. What is a bird? Orginally, our response was a tiny flying animal with feathers and wings. However, that description is astronomically incorrect. Birds do not have to be small. The largest flying bird, the Argentavis, (extinct as of 2009) has a wingspan […]

The Astonishing Agility of the Dragonfly

The dragonfly is an extremely unique insect, both in the shape of its body, and its 4 independent wings. Lets start with its eyes. The dragonfly, like many insects, has nearly 30,000 eyes, called compound eyes(1). This doesn’t work well for traditional sight it gives the dragonfly a 360 degree motion detector of sorts. This […]