4000 flaps per minute

 Hummingbirds are completely amazing. Absolute physical proof that even with the most incredible knowledge, we still don't know a whole lot. These tiny birds are smaller than our mobile phones, measuring from 5cm to a whopping 13cm. They fly at around 50 km per hour and even the largest flap their wings at 600 flaps per minute, and the little guys flap madly at over 4000 flaps per minute. They are metabolic and aerodynamic anomalies. They live very long lives for how high their metabolism has to work, living hours away from starvation only being able to store enough energy to get through the night. They visit about 1500 flowers every day to get enough sustenance, and still they do this day in day out, for 10 to 12 years! The aerodynamics of their flight has been studied and found to be distinct to them alone. With all our technology, researchers still do not know how hummingbirds hover when it is raining! My point is mainly that not everything is easily explained, even when we think we know a whole lot.

Legend says that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.

This link shows the smallest of the species, a bee hummingbird, in high winds easily hovering and feeding Bee Hummingbird in flight