View allAll Photos Tagged RubyThroatedHummingbirds
I just took these a couple of hours ago! After getting some nectar, she went to a nearby limb and spread out in this funny way! I wondered if she is migrating through and was just exhausted!
Taken 9-4-12 in Louisville, KY
IMG_0133p_filtered
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have many skeletal and flight muscle adaptations which allow the bird great agility in flight. Muscles make up 25-30% of their body weight, and they have long, bladelike wings that, unlike the wings of other birds, connect to the body only from the shoulder joint. This adaptation allows the wing to rotate almost 180°, enabling the bird to fly not only forward but also straight up and down, sideways, and backwards, and to hover in front of flowers as it feeds on nectar and insects.
During hovering, ruby-throated hummingbird wings beat 55x/sec, 61x/sec when moving backwards, and at least 75x/sec when moving forward.
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