Male hummingbirds impress mates by diving at high speed, then pulling up at 10 Gs, more than fighter pilots can take.


During courtship flights, male Anna's hummingbirds sustain accelerations that would cause a fighter jet pilot to pass out.

Using high-speed video footage to study their flight, Clark has shown that, relative to their body size, male Anna's hummingbirds are the fastest moving vertebrates.

Clark found that as they speed towards the ground, they travel nearly 400 times their body length each second.

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