小飞机向南飞去

在今天的主页图片中，这只红喉蜂鸟正在德克萨斯州山区的一些黄铃铛上吃零食，为它的漫长南方之旅准备过冬。每年的这个时候，蜂鸟离开美国东部和加拿大的北纬地区，迁徙到墨西哥和中美洲较温暖的地区。沿着他们的航线，许多人将在一次500英里的飞行中穿越墨西哥湾，这可能需要18-22个小时的不间断飞行，最高时速可达35英里。小而凶猛，红宝石喉蜂鸟重量不到五分之一。它平均每秒拍打翅膀53次，但在求偶过程中，拍打翅膀的速度增加到每秒200次，是所有鸟类中最快的。
原文：
The ruby-throated hummingbird in today's homepage image is snacking on some yellow bells in the Texas Hill Country, preparing for its long journey south for the winter. This time of year, the hummingbirds leave the northern latitudes of the eastern US and Canada, migrating to the warmer climes of Mexico and Central America. Along their route, many will cross the Gulf of Mexico in a single 500-mile flight, which can take 18-22 hours of nonstop flying at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Tiny but fierce, the ruby-throated hummingbird weighs less than a nickel. It beats its wings about 53 times a second on average, but during courtship the wingbeat rate increases to 200 times per second, the fastest of any bird.
《© Rolf Nussbaumer/Danita Delimont》