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A hummingbird can fly backwards, and its heart can beat over 1,000 times a minute.

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ScienceNature

Why it matters

The idea in context

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can truly hover and fly backwards, their wings tracing a figure-eight up to 80 times a second. Powering that costs an astonishing amount of energy: their hearts can race past 1,000 beats a minute, and to survive the night they drop into a deep, cold torpor that slows the body almost to a stop. They live their whole lives at the very edge of what a body can sustain.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Bir sinekkuşu geriye doğru uçabilir; kalbi dakikada 1.000'den fazla kez atabilir.

Sinekkuşları havada gerçekten asılı kalabilen ve geriye doğru uçabilen tek kuşlardır; kanatlarını saniyede 80 kez, sekiz çizer gibi hareket ettirirler. Bunun bedeli şaşırtıcı miktarda enerjidir: Kalpleri dakikada 1.000 atışı aşabilir ve geceyi atlatmak için bedenlerini neredeyse durma noktasına getiren derin, soğuk bir uyuşukluğa geçerler. Bütün yaşamlarını, bir bedenin dayanabileceği sınırda geçirirler.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

New verified fact batch 2026-07-05.

Background reading: HummingbirdAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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