Do sparrows hover in the air?

No, the only bird in nature that can hover in the air is the hummingbird.

The sparrow you saw may have made a short hover because it was flying against the wind.

The most exquisite bird-hummingbird

It's hard to imagine a bird the size of a wasp in the world unless you see it with your own eyes. However, as early as the middle of17th century, people discovered this kind of bird, which is the hummingbird.

More than 300 years have passed since the first hummingbird specimen was published, and ornithologists have discovered about 320 species of hummingbirds. Giant hummingbirds as big as these birds are only 20 centimeters long and weigh less than 20 grams. So few people have seen wild hummingbirds except those scholars who specialize in hummingbirds and explorers who are not afraid of difficulties and obstacles.

Hummingbirds are small, and most of them live in dense forests. Therefore, for observers, they are like fleeting meteors, which can only be seen by waiting patiently and using high-powered telescopes. Some scholars have said that the beauty of hummingbirds is indescribable, and their beauty exceeds that of any bird that people can imagine. They have shiny feathers from head to toe, hair feathers with metallic luster as thin as hair on their heads, colorful scales on their necks, shiny national flag feathers on their legs and elegant tail feathers on their tails. Therefore, although their whereabouts are uncertain, they can still attract countless curious hunters. Of course, ornithologists are not only attracted by the beautiful feathers of hummingbirds, but also find that hummingbirds are not only as small as bees, but also their feeding objects and feeding methods are similar to bees.

Many bees in nature live on nectar. They shuttle through the flowers with their small bodies, developed mouthparts and superb flying skills. And how did hummingbirds adapt to the lifestyle of bees in evolution and become "bees among birds"?

After several generations of ornithologists' research, the secret of hummingbird evolution has been gradually revealed. It is found that hummingbirds are closely related to the existing swift, and they have a common ancestor. Because of the different living environment, their ancestors had two different adaptations: the flying speed of some birds was greatly improved, and their descendants became the fastest swift among modern birds; The other part gradually has the ability to hover in the air, and their descendants are hummingbirds today.

How do hummingbirds fly and hover in the air? Ornithologists have taken a large number of films of hummingbirds flying with high-speed cameras outside the field. These films were shown at normal speed, and the flying action of hummingbirds was slowed down. From these films, we can see that the wings of hummingbirds flap vertically up and down on both sides of their bodies during flight. When hovering in the air, the wings of hummingbirds flap 54 times per second, and 75 times per second when ascending, descending or advancing vertically. Hummingbirds fly and hover by flapping their wings quickly. Hummingbirds make a "buzzing, buzzing" sound when they flap their wings quickly, much like bees. So the English name of hummingbird means hummingbird.

Every breeding season, hummingbirds will make a U-shaped show-off flight in the forest. They keep circling up and down. At this time, their wings flap 200 times a second. In this flight, the hummingbird's tail kept swinging back and forth. At this time, the tail is an important tool to control balance. Because, when the wings flap quickly, the hummingbird's body will be deflected by the impact of airflow; The swing of the tail can change the airflow generated by flapping wings, so that hummingbirds can fly smoothly. Hummingbirds can be said to be highly skilled pilots.

Hummingbirds have a long, sharp mouth, which can be easily inserted into flowers to feed. There is a kind of sword-billed hummingbird whose head and body can't catch up with its mouth together. If a person's mouth is as long as that of a hummingbird, then. We can eat food beyond 2 meters without moving our bodies. Hummingbirds have tongues four to five times longer than their mouths. Their tongues are tubular, just like straws we use when drinking soda. When they hover in front of the flowers and put their mouths into the flowers, their tongues will stick out from their mouths. Their long tongues can reach the nectaries at the base of flowers, and then suck nectar like soda water. Some hummingbirds have tongues as sharp as needles. Here, they can suck nectar and pick out insects from under the bark to eat.

Male hummingbirds are extremely aggressive during the breeding season. Every breeding season, male hummingbirds occupy a certain field, and they keep flying in their own field. If other animals break into this area, the males will attack them. People saw that when a bat falcon, which is famous for preying on bats, invaded the hummingbird's territory, the male hummingbird did not hesitate to launch a fierce attack on it. However, when hummingbirds encounter large invasive animals, they generally only scream behind their backs and rarely have "hand-to-hand combat".

Male hummingbirds are very attentive to female hummingbirds flying in the fields. Hummingbirds are polygamous. After mating with the male, the female flies out of the field of the male hummingbird and independently nests, lays eggs, hatches and broods. Male hummingbirds continue to fly in the fields, waiting for the arrival of other female hummingbirds. Many female hummingbirds can mate twice in a breeding season and build two nests. Their first nest may have been born, and they are hatching the second nest. Therefore, these female hummingbirds often shuttle between the two nests, feeding the chicks and hatching eggs, and are very busy.

Hummingbirds' nests are small and usually cup-shaped. Their nests are usually built on soft branches, and some are even built on cobwebs. In addition, some hummingbirds' nests are basket-shaped and suspended in mid-air with a filament.

Hummingbirds have an amazing appetite. They eat twice their weight every day. This is because hummingbirds need a lot of energy to flap their wings at high speed when flying. Hummingbird is the fastest flapping bird in the world, which can reach 50 ~ 75 times per second. In addition, their metabolic rate is extremely high, about 50 times that of humans. There is a law in zoology that the smaller the individual, the larger the relative heat dissipation area. Because the hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world, it has the fastest heat dissipation and the strongest metabolism among birds. Therefore, food is very important to hummingbirds. In the past, people always thought that when food was scarce, hummingbirds would migrate to food-rich areas. In the early 1950s, ornithologist Pearson discovered in a cave in the Andes that hummingbirds would sleep in the season when food was scarce. During dormancy, its body temperature dropped from 38℃ to 65438 04℃. Even in the season of abundant food, this hummingbird is active in the flowers during the day, and its body temperature will drop to 14℃ at night. This wonderful adaptability is rare among birds.