As we enter November, I entreat you to turn your eyes towards the sky. I suspect that long before our primate forerunners evolved into humans, they too marveled at various species that have the remarkable ability to fly.
That primate fascination with flying things continued with modern humans, eventually translating into a hot air balloon flight with people on November 21,1783. Despite the conventionality of humans flying in various contraptions these days, observing and learning about nature’s winged things still can be truly awe-inspiring.
Here in the Sky Islands we have a plethora of aerial species, none more ubiquitous than those in the class Insecta. Not all insects can fly, but they are the only invertebrate group to develop the power of flight. Probably a good thing—just imagine flying scorpions and tarantulas!
Paleontologists tell us that a dragonfly-like insect was the first species on Earth to take to the skies, approximately 325 million years ago, slightly beating humans to the punch. The speed of dragonfly flight is truly remarkable, with large species approaching 35mph. Further, they can change directions 180 degrees within a very small distance. Watch our common green darner or flame skimmer not only for these and other feats, but also for the therapeutic value they provide to your eyes—it’s a workout just following them through the air.
Most people may well think that either a species is winged or not, and with birds or bats this is certainly the case. Certain insect groups have, however, evolved into having only select members of their species with flight capabilities. Witness ants and termites. Both of these vaguely similar looking, yet highly divergent, groups have workers that lack the ability to become airborne. When it’s time to mate, though, they join the insect equivalent of the “mile high club.” The kings and queens take to the skies in lustful nuptial flights where they copulate. King ants then die, having served their sole purpose in life: to sire a new generation. King termites, minus their wings which they shed after their first flight, persist in colonies to provide sexual services when required.
Some other insect groups, among them beetles and grasshoppers, have species where only one gender has the ability to fly. In those cases, typically it’s the males who have wings and are mobile. Females of these species tend to be larger—the better to produce more offspring—and release scents and/or sounds to lure in their paramours.
While flying insects numerically dominate animals that are able to ply the skies—approximately 95% of all insect species can fly—birds too have clearly excelled in this rather demanding evolutionary path. They are even more committed to flight as a group, with a mere 0.54% of bird species being flightless. Given its many migrating species, November is prime time for watching our Sky Island birds, none of which are flightless.
So many bird groups are fun to watch in flight, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But hummingbirds certainly must be near the top of the list. This strictly New World group takes center stage in Arizona, where more species—18—have been recorded than in any other state. Like dragonflies, hummingbirds can fly in almost any direction or, obviously, hover. Some species beat their wings 80 times per…second!
Our white-throated swifts live up to their billing, with top flight speeds of about 105mph. Don’t tell local law enforcement. The “sheriff of the sky,” peregrine falcons, have taken down as many as 450 bird species in North America—including hummingbirds and swifts—and about 2,000 species across their nearly global distribution.
We conclude with the only other animal group on the planet to currently—RIP pterosaurs—possess the power of flight: bats. Bats are well-represented in Arizona, with 29 species having cut through our skies at one time or another. As a group, bats are “all-in” when it comes to flying—no flightless species of bat has ever been discovered.
While “blind as a bat” is a familiar slur tossed around, many bat species in fact have good vision. Still, many species navigate mainly via echolocation, bouncing vocal signals off of objects that their sometimes out-sized ears then interpret, Catching aerial prey, especially insects, in utter darkness hence becomes a plausible act of predation.
I hope that you too are inspired by our Sky Islands aerialists—their beauty, functionality and prowess. Just don’t get any crazy ideas like Icarus!
Vincent Pinto and his wife Claudia run RAVENS-WAY WILD JOURNEYS, their Nature Adventure & Conservation organization devoted to protecting and promoting the unique biodiversity of the Sky Islands region. RWWJ offers a wide variety of private, custom-made courses, birding and biodiversity tours. Visit ravensnatureschool.com