Across the western Cape of South Africa can be found small plants in the Iris family called Babiana. Flitting between them are sunbirds, small colourful birds like the African version of hummingbirds, that drink the nectar ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 6, 2011
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The shape of a hummingbird's beak allows for a "controlled elastic snap" that allows it to snatch up flying insects in a mere fraction of a second —with greater speed and power than could be achieved by jaw muscles alone, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 19, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ornithologists first put forth the theory that hummingbirds took in nectar using capillary action (where liquid rises against gravity in a narrow tube) in 1833 and since then no one has questioned it. In ...
Each year, a new bird is found and every four years a new mammal discovered in the Peruvian Amazon, a haven for biodiversity where conservation and danger often go hand in hand.
Ecology
Dec 28, 2010
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Hummingbirds rank among the world's largest and most accomplished hovering animals, but how do they manage it in gusty winds?
General Physics
Nov 21, 2010
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When it comes to attracting a mate, flowers and sweets often do the trick—even for one of the world's smallest birds—the purple throated carib, a hummingbird species native to the mountainous islands of the Eastern Caribbean. ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 7, 2010
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We normally think of pollinators as providing a valuable service to plants, and they certainly do. In exchange for nectar, pollinators like the well-known honey bee carry pollen from one plant to the other and thus promote ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 21, 2010
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Japanese researchers said Monday they had developed a "hummingbird robot" that can flutter around freely in mid-air with rapid wing movements.
Robotics
Dec 28, 2009
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The secret to the flight of the hummingbird and other tiny birds and insects lies in the looping, swirling flow of air, called a vortex, that their flapping wings create.
Engineering
Dec 16, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- If the climate is not quite right, birds will up and move rather than stick around and sweat it out, according to a new study led by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ecology
Sep 14, 2009
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