The colorful Hummingbirds are the only birds that can sustainably master a real hover or whirring Flight. This ability is made possible by special adjustments in the shoulder joint, which allow the wing to generate lift on both upstroke and downstroke. Comparing birds to airplanes, hummingbirds are the helicopters among them.

Hovering gives hummingbirds exceptional maneuverability. They are also the only ones in their vertebrate class that can fly backwards. During the Hovering flight, they sometimes flap their wings more than 80 times per second, producing a characteristic humming sound. This has earned them the name “Hummingbird” (“humming bird”) in English.

Hovering is very expensive: it is the most energy-intensive form of locomotion in the animal kingdom. The approximately 360 hummingbird species all feed on flower nectar, which contains plenty of glucose and fructose. The flight muscles metabolize this sugar very efficiently, allowing the animals to perform their sophisticated aeronautical arts. Until now, experts did not know which genetic characteristics underlie the corresponding metabolic adaptations…