A scientist has caught a hummingbird hitting a top speed twice that of the fastest fighter jet at least relatively.
The Annas hummingbird, now believed to be the fastest bird in the world relative to its size, can reach speeds of 50mph, or nearly 385 body lengths per second. That may seem slow compared with a Eurofighters top speed of 1,320mph, but even at that speed the jet manages to cover just 39 body lengths per second.
Christopher Clark of UC Berkeley said the bird reached 10-G acceleration as it pulled out of its dive, greater than previously reported accelerations “for any organism undergoing aerial manoeuvres, except jet fighter pilots,” says Clark.
The birds display of aeronautical prowess not to mention that of a figher pilot is all to impress the ladies.
To get the male birds to dive, Clark placed a stuffed model hummingbird, or a live hummingbird in a cage, near a males perch. He then filmed close-up, high-speed videos of diving birds to record the birds wing and tail kinematics over the course of the dive. Sounds produced by the birds wings and tail were also recorded using a microphone.
Clark carried out the research at Albany Bulb in the East Shore State Park, California, a site he chose because it helped him film the high-speed birds. “This location is at sea level, and was flat and relatively devoid of obstructing topographic features, facilitating the collection of video in which diving birds were a few dark pixels silhouetted against the sky,” he explained in a paper published by the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
He found that the dive consisted of five stages. In the first, the birds descended into view, propelling themselves earthward by flapping their wings. Then they stopped flapping, tucked their wings by their sides, and stop making noise. The birds next spread their wings to glide before going into stage four, when they abruptly spread their tails at the bottom of the dive. Finally, they flapp their wings once and shut their tails for the final stage of the dive.
The second stage is the fastest. Clark writes: “After powering the initial stage of the dive by flapping, males folded their wings by their sides, at which point they reached an average maximum velocity of 385 body lengths per second.” This is faster than a diving peregrine falcon as well as fighter jets.
While the speed is what impressed the researcher, he believes its the loudness of the sound produced by the tail feathers during stage four of the process that attracts the female birds. The faster the bird flies, the louder the sound becomes, which explains the Annas hummingbirds need for speed.
The second stage is the fastest. “Males powered the first part of the dive by flapping, then folded their wings by their sides, reaching an average maximum velocity of 385 body lengths per second,” writes Clark. This is quicker than fighter jets and a diving peregrine falcon.
A hummingbird was observed by a scientist reaching a maximum speed that was, at least somewhat, twice that of the fastest fighter jet.
The bird’s feat of aviation skill, along with that of a fighter pilot, is solely intended to wow the ladies.
Clark put a live hummingbird in a cage or a stuffed model hummingbird close to a male bird’s perch to encourage the males to dive. He then recorded the wing and tail kinematics of diving birds by taking close-up, fast-moving videos of them. Using a microphone, the sounds made by the bird’s wings and tail were also captured.
The Anna’s hummingbird can reach 50 mph, or roughly 385 body lengths per second, making it the fastest bird in the world for its size. That might seem slow in comparison to the top speed of a Eurofighter, which is 1,320 mph, but even at that velocity, the aircraft can only move 39 body lengths per second.
It can dive up to 385 mph, which is faster than swallows (350 mph) and peregrine falcons (200 mph) when they are hunting prey.
The University of California, Berkeley zoologist Christopher James Clark captured high-speed images of male Annas hummingbirds diving as part of their courtship ritual. He recorded their top speed as 385 body lengths per second (blps), or roughly 27 3 metres per second.
In relation to its size, this is the fastest vertebrate speed ever documented. Only insects, like fleas, have the ability to move more quickly in relation to their size.
Many birds, including snipes, nighthawks, and other hummingbirds, engage in aerial dives as part of their courtship rituals. Falcons, kingfishers and many seabirds use dives to attack prey. By diving, birds can achieve extremely high speeds.
This article was amended on Wednesday 10 June. The Guardian’s editorial code was broken by the original headline. This has been corrected.
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