Flying backwards
Mar 14, 2022
Have you ever thought if birds can fly backwards?
There may not seem a lot of point when flying forwards is so efficient and presumably much more useful. But, yes, one bird species can — the humming bird. These are tiny little birds. The bee humming bird from Cuba is the world’s smallest bird. From beak to tail it is only about 54 millimeters long. And it only weighs roughly 1.6 grams.
Hummingbirds get their name from the phenomenal speed at which they beat their wings. This is so fast that the little birds can hover like a helicopter while drinking nectar from a flower. And their wing speed also lets them fly backwards when they feel like it.
