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(Gentle music plays)[br]Hummingbirds are great.

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They're beautiful,

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they're fast[br]and when they hover,

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it almost seems[br]like magic.

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But how do they do[br]when the wind gets gusty?

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That's what Australian

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and American scientists[br]wanted to find out

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when they put the four[br]Ruby-throated

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Hummingbirds[br]in a wind tunnel.

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And the answer is,

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they just do great.

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The birds did just fine[br]in a steady wind, no surprise there.

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They also did great[br]with the wind speed

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varying[br]by as much as 15%.

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Just to compare,

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small drones[br]can only handle 7%.

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One way the birds cope

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is that they change[br]the angle and action

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of each wing[br]independently,

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in the space[br]of a wing beat.

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Those wings are beating[br]40 times per second.

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And constant[br]adjustment of the tail

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is very important,

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both in its position

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and in how much[br]it was fanned out.

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The next step the researchers[br]have in mind,

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is to try to help

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the drones catch up,[br]by giving them tails.

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(Music plays, increasing in volume)

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(Music plays, increasing in volume)