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taylorvich [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-hummingbirds-mental-gears-flight.html [phys.org]

Hummingbirds use two distinct sensory strategies to control their flight, depending on whether they're hovering or in forward motion, according to new research by University of British Columbia (UBC) zoologists.

"When in forward fight, hummingbirds rely on what we call an 'internal forward model'—almost an ingrained, intuitive autopilot—to gauge speed," says Dr. Vikram B. Baliga, lead author of a new study on hummingbird locomotion published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. "There's just too much information coming in to rely directly on every visual cue from your surroundings."

"But when hovering or dealing with cues that might require a change in altitude, we found they rely much more on real-time, direct visual feedback from their environment."

The findings not only provide insights into how the tiny, agile birds perceive the world during transitions in flight, but could inform the programming of onboard navigation for next-generation autonomous flying and hovering vehicles.

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