Hovering is a skill used by some animals with wings to stay mostly still in the air. This is often done by making quick downward movements with their wings to create upward force. At times, hovering is achieved by flapping or gliding against the wind; this method is known as "wind hovering," "windhovering," or "kiting."

True hoverers

Hummingbirds hover over flowers to drink nectar, flapping their wings up to 70 times each second.

• Ruby-throated hummingbird
• Sword-billed hummingbird

Like hummingbirds, fruit bats and nectar bats hover over flowers while eating fruits or nectar. Comparisons between bats and hummingbirds show that both animals use similar amounts of energy for hovering compared to their body size. Hummingbirds can twist their wings more easily and are more efficient in the air, but bats have larger wings and make bigger wing movements.

Small kingfishers, such as the Belted kingfisher, may hover over water before diving to catch fish. Larger kingfishers, like the Ringed kingfisher, are too heavy to hover for more than a few seconds.

Some sphinx moths (family Sphingidae) are called hummingbird moths because they hover over flowers while feeding on nectar. Moths are heavy insects and sometimes use their front legs to hold onto flowers while hovering.

• Hummingbird clearwing
• Broad-bordered bee hawk-moth

Some clearwing moths (family Sesiidae) also hover while feeding on nectar or drinking water from wet surfaces. Female moths may hover to look for places to lay their eggs.

• Chamaesphecia bibioniformis
• Squash vine borer
• Hemaris diffinis is a good mimic of a bumblebee

Hoverflies are types of flies that often hover over the plants they visit. Their hovering is different from hummingbirds because they do not eat while flying. Hovering can help them find food, and male hoverflies often hover to show off to females. Female hoverflies hover to look for places to lay eggs.

• Western aphideater
• Large-tailed aphideater
• Marmalade hoverfly

Bee flies are insects that can move quickly through the air. Male bee flies hover to attract females, while females hover near places where they lay eggs, such as the entrance of insect nests. They use their body to shoot eggs into the nest. Some bee flies with long mouthparts can hover over flowers while feeding, similar to hummingbirds, but they may use their legs to balance.

• Bombylius egg ejection
• Large bee-fly
• Western bee-fly

Odonata is a group of insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies. These insects are strong fliers known for their fast, acrobatic movements, including short hovering during their patrols. Female dragonflies may hover over water before or during laying eggs, and males may hover to guard their mates.

• Sedge darner male
• Green darner male
• Black saddlebags pair hovering over oviposition site

• Female dragonflies hover-ovipositing
• Blue dasher
• Common whitetail

Some male damselflies hover in front of females or over places where eggs are laid during mating. Sometimes females also hover in response. After mating, males may hover to guard their mates by flying around them or staying attached while hovering. Males that hover while attached do not need wings to stay in the air because they hold their mate with their body.

• Ebony jewelwing male hover-patrolling
• Powdered dancer male hover-patrolling
• Powdered dancer males hover-guarding

Many bees, such as bumblebees, hover briefly as they approach flowers to feed. Male bees of some species, like carder bees, hover to patrol their areas.

• Golden northern bumble bee
• Oriental carpenter bee
• European wool carder bee

Male large-eyed carpenter bees hover to protect their territory and attract females. Hovering helps them see intruders and other males. If a male carpenter bee sees an intruder, it may fly toward it to drive it away.

Among social wasps, Stenogastrinae are called hover wasps because of their unique hovering flight. Male hover wasps hover to show patterns on their body as part of territorial displays.

Among solitary wasps, parasitoid species like scoliid wasps hover while searching for prey to feed their young. Male parasitoids may hover briefly to patrol for females and chase away rivals.

Wind hoverers

Many birds of prey, such as kestrels, harriers, and members of the Buteo genus, can hover in the wind by facing it directly. Elanine kites also hover in the wind; this behavior is sometimes called "kiting" because of the common names of this group.

• Common kestrel
• Nankeen kestrel
• Northern harrier
• Letter-winged kite

Some seabirds hover in the wind by soaring or flapping against it. This behavior often uses rising warm air from coastal cliffs.

Tropicbirds can fly backward against strong headwinds. Red-tailed tropicbird pairs use this ability to circle each other during courtship displays.

Smaller seabirds, such as shearwaters and storm petrels, feed by hovering low over water. They flap their wings, which are partly open, and paddle with their feet. This technique is called "pattering" or "sea-anchoring." A slight horizontal wind from the waves helps these birds stay in place while they use their feet to balance.

• Red-tailed tropicbird flying backward
• Red-tailed tropicbirds circling during courtship
• Wilson's storm petrel pattering
• Fluttering shearwater pattering