Of course, flying this way can be exhausting.

Of course, flying this way can be exhausting. Hovering is one of the most energy intensive forms of movement in the animal kingdom. And relative to their body size, hummingbirds have the highest metabolic rates of all vertebrates. This leads them to eat very frequently— often consuming an average of four meals an hour while flying. Fortunately, their hovering lets them eat at remarkable angles without perching, consuming food that would otherwise be impossible to reach. Using their long slender bills, they reach deep inside flowers and pump out nectar with their thin grooved tongues. This sugary liquid is a hummingbird’s most important energy source, and a single bird consumes six times its weight in nectar every day over hundreds of small meals.