Hover (behaviour)

They are strong aviators renowned for their acrobatic flights, including the ability to hover, usually for a short pause during their ceaseless territorial patrols.

Males hover-guarding in tandem do not need wings at all to remain suspended in the air; they are held aloft by clasping their mate with their abdomen, and can maintain their position even when the head and thorax are removed by predators.

[34] [35] Males of some parasitoids may hover briefly while they patrol their territories, seeking females and chasing away rivals.

[36] [37] [38] Many birds of prey such as kestrels, harriers, and members of the Buteo genus can "windhover" by facing the wind.

[42] [43] [44] Certain seabirds can windhover by soaring or flapping into the wind; often this behaviour takes advantage of thermals whipping off a coastal cliff.

[47] [48] Smaller seabirds such as shearwaters and storm petrels feed by hovering low over the water surface, [49] flapping with half-open wings and paddling with their feet in a technique called "pattering" or "sea-anchoring".

[50] [51] The waves are accompanied by a slight horizontal wind that enables the birds to soar in place while using their feet to steady themselves.