🔬 Researchers working with species such as the Anna’s Hummingbird placed trained individuals inside a wind tunnel at the Animal Flight Laboratory at UC Berkeley and other labs. Inside they adjusted airflow (3 m/s, 6 m/s, 9 m/s) and recorded the birds feeding at an artificial flower, using high-speed video and flow visualization.  Here’s what they discovered — and why it matters: • The hummingbird supports much of its weight during the downstroke (~75 %) and the remainder during the upstroke.  • When airflow is steady the bird hovers with tiny oscillations. When encountering turbulence or gusts (simulated by vortex streets upstream) they detect perturbations and correct: wings twist, tails act as rudders, bodies lean.  • In these wind-tunnel tests the birds maintained a stable feeding posture even in gusty flow by combining rapid wing kinematics and tail adjustments.  • Wake imaging shows each wing creates its own vortex loop (in hovering) which contributes to lift and control...