Page 94 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Animal

answers

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questions@animalanswers.co.uk

Can

birds fly

backwards?

As a rule, birds can’t fly backwards. Most
can for a short time if they need to make an
emergency stop or a quick change in direction,

but only one species can truly fly backwards
for any length of time: the hummingbird. The
world’s smallest bird is arguably one of the

most skilled fliers in the animal kingdom. It
doesn’t just come out of necessity in times of
danger, but rather it is a skill they have honed to
perfection. Flying backwards comes so easily to
these little birds that it actually doesn’t use any
more energy than flying forwards, and is even

more energy efficient than hovering.

The trick is in the wing physiology. Unlike
other birds, hummingbirds have what is called
a ‘rotating cuff’, allowing them to move their
wings in a figure of eight pattern, gaining extra

lift where other birds can’t. Alongside this, they
have incredibly strong pectoral muscles, and are

able to alter their posture mid-flight in order to
change direction with ease. This unique method
of flight is essential to the bird’s survival and Only one species

of bird has truly

enables them to get close enough to flowers to mastered the art of
drink the nectar before reversing away. flying backwards

What is the most Do all animals have hearts?
valuable species
to conserve? A surprising number of animals survive
without a heart. In fact, relatively few
animals even have one; it’s only the
The answer to this question depends entirely on vertebrates, (animals with backbones)
what you value most. Many scientists would argue that need one. Insects, for example,
that fungi are the most important species on the have hollow chambers that flood the

planet because they recycle waste products, turning body with blood.
the soil over to provide a host of nutrients so other Jellyfish take this a step further;

‘plant species’ can thrive. A similar argument can not only do they lack a heart, they
be made for bees, which are vital pollinators and don’t have any blood either. Made Jellyfi sh
ensure the survival of countless flowering plant almost entirely of water, their outer don’t have hearts

or brains and
species, many of which we could not live without. membranes are so thin, oxygen is able are so different

These species aren’t that charismatic, however, and to diffuse straight into their body. to us that early

some would argue that conserving the larger, and explorers labelled
them aliens
‘cuter’, species can be just as valuable.
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