Mindo Cloud-Forest Hummingbird Havens
Mindo Valley, Chocó-Andes, Ecuador · Latin America & Reefs · rainforest
About this place
Investigate figure-eight leading-edge vortex aerodynamics, structural feather iridescence, and deep nocturnal torpor in Chocó-Andean hummingbirds.
For kids: Zoom into a misty orchid forest where jewel-bright hummingbirds draw sideways figure-eights in the air and fly backward!
Mindo Cloud-Forest Hummingbird Havens · 360° Habitat Camp
What to look for
- Heliconia & fuchsia nectar blossoms — Figure-eight leading-edge vortex zone. Centre the ornithophilous floral cluster visited by hovering trochilids
- Mossy nocturnal torpor perch — Nocturnal heterothermic roost. Locate the sheltered epiphyte bough used for nocturnal metabolic torpor
- Tank-bromeliad cloud canopy — Phytotelmata micro-ecosystems. Scan the upper cloud-forest crown loaded with water-impounding bromeliads
Source: Warrick, Tobalske & Powers (2005), Nature — Asymmetrical leading-edge vortices during figure-eight hummingbird hovering.
Ask together: Try tracing a sideways figure-eight in the air with both hands—how is that different from flapping straight up and down like a pigeon?
Field quiz
Kids' question: What wing trick lets a hummingbird hover completely still in front of a flower like a tiny helicopter?
- Tracing a sideways figure-eight that makes lift forward AND backward
- Inflating tiny air balloons under its feathers
- Holding onto flower petals with invisible threads
Answer
Tracing a sideways figure-eight that makes lift forward AND backward
Adults' question: What weight-support split did high-speed flow visualization measure between downstroke and upstroke in hovering hummingbirds (Warrick et al., 2005)?
- Roughly 75% weight support on the downstroke and 25% on the supinated upstroke via leading-edge vortices
- 100% lift on the downstroke and zero aerodynamic force on the upstroke
- Pure thermal soaring on rising volcanic steam
- Passive parachute drag from elongated tail streamers
Answer
Roughly 75% weight support on the downstroke and 25% on the supinated upstroke via leading-edge vortices
360° photo: Francisco Ayres, CC BY-SA 4.0
See it live: Live check: Mindo Cloud-Forest Hummingbird Cam
- By day
- Booted racket-tails, velvet-purple coronets, violet-tailed sylphs & toucan barbets Spot structural gorget flashes on live Sachatamia feeders—feather melanosome platelets shift hue sharply with viewing angle.
- By night
- Emerald glass moths, sphinx hawkmoths & rain-drenched bromeliad mist After sunset, nocturnal sphingid hawkmoths occupy the exact hovering figure-eight aerodynamic niche vacated by sleeping trochilids.
Other language: Русский