The Flying Spaghetti Monster did a good job when he made hummingbirds. The tiny, ravenous creatures hover by beating their wings, up to 80 times a second, in a figure-8 pattern, which creates lift during the upstroke and downstroke. This is why they can remain perfectly level rather than bobbing up and down, even in wind and rain.
Scientists at UC Berkeley put hummingbirds in a wind tunnel and filmed them at 1000 frames per seconds to study their wing motion in different wind conditions.
Image: PBS Digital Studios
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