A hummingbird can zip backward, forward, sideways, and upside down. It can even hover in mid-air to sip nectar from flowers and feeders. Unlike other birds, a hummingbird's wings attach to the body only at its shoulder joints. This adaptation enables a hummer to rotate its wings 180 degrees and move them in all directions.

A hummingbird can hover in mid-air, because its upstroke muscles are as strong as its downstoke muscles. When it hovers, the hummer is turning its wings over and back in a figure eight patten.