Hovering . . .
. . . The Rough-legged Hawk has the rare ability to hover in place looking for food, without expending hardly any energy to do so! Hummingbirds hover also, but move their wings in a figure 8 pattern to get lift on every forward and backward stroke.
Without so much as a single flap, this bird maintained it's position for about 30 seconds without moving by using it's huge wingspan and spreading it's primary flight feathers to get more lift. The wind was blowing perhaps only 5 mph!
Have a great weekend Facebook, 500px, and Flickr friends!
Hovering . . .
. . . The Rough-legged Hawk has the rare ability to hover in place looking for food, without expending hardly any energy to do so! Hummingbirds hover also, but move their wings in a figure 8 pattern to get lift on every forward and backward stroke.
Without so much as a single flap, this bird maintained it's position for about 30 seconds without moving by using it's huge wingspan and spreading it's primary flight feathers to get more lift. The wind was blowing perhaps only 5 mph!
Have a great weekend Facebook, 500px, and Flickr friends!