THE HUMMINGBIRD

September 22, 2015Science & Faith

WHAT IS THE HUMMINGBIRD?

It’s a bird, a thumb-size dervish with hyper kinetic wings that can beat 80 times a second, producing the faintest hum. Tail feathers paddle, steering gently in three dimensions. As the bird stares into the trumpet of a bright orange flower, a thread-thin tongue flickers from its needle beak. A sunbeam glances off its iridescent feathers, the reflected color as dazzling as a gemstone hung in a sunny window. Little wonder hummingbirds inspire heartfelt affection and stuttering efforts at description. Even reserved scientists can’t resist such words as “beautiful,” “stunning,” and “exotic.”

We can’t go through these words without we stop and remind people with the following verse as Allah almighty says: (This is the creation of Allah. So show me that which those (whom you worship) besides Him have created. Nay, the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrongdoers and those who do not believe in the Oneness of Allah) are in plain error.)(Sûrat Luqmân-verse 11).

A greater wonder is that the seemingly fragile hummingbird is one of the toughest beasts in the animal kingdom. Some 330 species thrive in diverse and often brutal environments: from Alaska to Argentina; from the Arizona desert to the coast of Nova Scotia; from the lowland forests of Brazil to the 15,000-foot-plus (4,600 meters) snow line of the Andes.

Karl Schuchmann, an ornithologist at Germany’s Alexander Koenig Zoological Institute knows of a captive hummer that lived 17 years. “Imagine the durability of an organism of only five or six grams to live that long,” he says. Its cranberry-size heart, which averages 500 beats a minute (while perching!), would have thumped four and a half billion times, nearly twice the total for a 70-year-old person. Glory to Allah!!!!!!

Yet these little birds are durable only in life. In death their delicate, hollow bones almost never fossilize.

Scientists say about hummingbirds: they are the Marvels of micro-engineering; hummingbirds are the bird world’s featherweight champions.

Scientists say that the Hummingbird flies in an acrobatic style matched by few other birds. They hover often, and also fly upside down and backwards. These hummingbirds have extremely short legs, so they cannot walk or even hop with any efficiency.

Hummingbirds hover to feed on flowers, nectar, and sap. During this floral feeding process, the birds pollinate many plants.

These tiny birds are omnivores, sometimes feeding on insects and spiders. An adult ruby-throated hummingbird may eat twice its body weight in food each day, which it burns up with the high metabolism necessary to sustain its rapid wing beat and energetic movements.

The Anna’s Hummingbird is now the fastest bird in the world. During courtship displays animals can attain amazing athletic performances,” says Christopher James Clark, of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkley. “I used high-speed video to show that during a courtship dive, the Anna’s Hummingbird reaches speeds of nearly 400 body lengths per second, twice the top speed of diving peregrine falcons or fighter jets,” he writes in a summary of a research paper published today in the science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

To see the video click here:
http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/01/30_hummingbird.shtml

A male Anna’s hummingbird caught during a display dive, compiled from high speed video. At the bottom of the dive, the bird flares its tail for 60 milliseconds. The inner vanes of the bird’s two outer tail feathers vibrate in the 50 mph airstream to produce a brief chirp.

“The accelerations experienced by the bird while pulling out of the dive almost reach 10g, also a performance record.” This acceleration is remarkable, for instance trained Jet fighter pilots pass out under similar accelerations.” He says.

It means that this bird can afford what the trained Jet fighter pilots can’t.

Finally we have to ask ourselves a simple question, is the nature or what is called coincidence able to create and design that perfect and precise mechanism and abilities? Also, who hold these birds in the sky to keep them up not to fall down? And who supported those birds by these wonderful techniques?

He is Allah be blessed and exalted who says: (That is God, your Lord! there is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship ye Him: and He hath power to dispose of all affairs.) (Sûrat Al-An’âm-verse102) also He says: (Do they not see the birds held (flying) in the midst of the sky? None holds them but Allah [none gave them the ability to fly but Allah]. Verily, in this are clear Ayât (proofs and signs) for people who believe (in the Oneness of Allah).)(Sûrat An-Nahl-verse79).

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By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel
Website: www.kaheel7.com/eng

References:
1. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/01/hummingbirds/klesius-text
2. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/ruby-throat-hummingbird.html
3. http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/01/30_hummingbird.shtml
4. www.aljazeera.net