Hummingbirds seem like a marvel of nature and engineering: a living creature that can hover near a flower with surgical precision. How do they do this? Though hummingbirds’ flight mechanics have been ...

Hummingbirds hover near our doorstep. More birdwatchers aim to attract hummers to feeders than any other bird. The primary guideline for feeding hummers is “Do no harm.” Really? How can we harm ...

That may sound surprising when you consider the mobility of these tiny buzz birds. With jet-like speed they can fly forward and backward, shoot directly up or dive rapidly and even hover in one place.

A naturalist friend, when needing to kill some time on expeditions, has a favorite question for his guests: Can you name the three birds that hover in flight? Most people come up with birds like ...

Hummingbird flight mechanics have been well studied but far less is known about how their sense of touch helps them sip nectar from a flower without bumping into it. Most of what scientists know about ...