How Fast Can a Hummingbird Fly & Flap Their Wings?

Top Hummingbird Flight Speed

How fast do hummingbirds fly? A hummingbird flaps its wings at a certain speed, depending on the species. The smaller the hummingbird, the faster it flaps its wings.

• The Ruby-throated hummingbird flaps its wings about 50 times per second.

• The Rufous hummingbird flaps its wings 52-62 times per second.

• The Giant hummingbird of the Andes flaps at 12 beats per second.

• The Bee hummingbird of Cuba, measuring 2 inches, beats its wings at 80 times a second.

Advancements in high-speed motion photography have helped researchers measure these fast movements. The number of times hummingbirds beat their wings per second ranges from 10 to over 80. They can also beat their wings faster during their courtship display dives, which some males perform. Furthermore, they can fly at speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, even in poor weather. In courtship dives, they can reach speeds three times faster.

Fastest Flying Hummingbirds

Even the fastest hummingbirds travel incredibly fast. Christopher James Clark, a researcher at UC Berkeley, described how a male Anna’s hummingbird uses its wings as brakes during its courtship dive. It tucks its wings into its sides and achieves an average maximum speed of 90 feet per second. This speed is faster than any other known vertebrate relative to its size. Remarkably, the bird can endure centripetal accelerations of nearly 9 g, which would make an average person black out.

In other words, hummingbirds are faster than a fighter jet when adjusted for size.

Hummingbirds Hover in Midair

What else is special about hummingbirds? They are excellent at hovering, which is how they extract nectar from flowers. They can also fly in reverse and, occasionally, for short bursts, upside down.

Finally, discover why hummingbird feathers shine, even without pigment.

Sources

• The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know about These Fascinating Birds by John Shewey and George W. Petrides, Timber Press