Brooding vs. Hover — What's the Difference?
By Fiza Rafique & Maham Liaqat — Updated on May 2, 2024
Brooding involves nurturing and providing warmth to eggs or young, typically stationary, while hover refers to staying in one place in the air, often by flying or floating.
Difference Between Brooding and Hover
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Brooding primarily relates to the act of sitting on eggs to incubate them, as seen in birds, whereas hovering is an action where an individual or object maintains a position in the air. Birds like hawks or insects such as dragonflies can hover.
In brooding, the goal is to provide heat and protection to ensure the development of embryos within the eggs, while hovering is often used for hunting or scanning the environment, providing a strategic advantage.
Brooding is a passive activity requiring extended periods of stillness and little movement, which helps in maintaining a constant temperature for the eggs. On the other hand, hovering demands high energy and involves rapid movements like wing flapping.
Certain animals, like chickens, exhibit brooding by instinct, showing maternal care. Conversely, hovering is a skill used by various species, including some birds and insects, for specific functional reasons like feeding or mating.
The environments where brooding and hovering occur also contrast; brooding typically happens in nests or enclosed spaces providing safety, whereas hovering can occur in open, sometimes risky, environments.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Incubating eggs by body heat.
Maintaining air position with rapid movements.
Purpose
To nurture and protect young or eggs.
To scout, hunt, or stabilize in the air for observation.
Energy Requirement
Low energy, mostly passive.
High energy, active.
Typical Species
Birds like hens, ducks.
Birds like hummingbirds, insects like dragonflies.
Environmental Setting
Secure, enclosed areas like nests.
Open and potentially exposed areas.
Compare with Definitions
Brooding
Keeping a subject continuously in one's thoughts.
She was brooding over her son's safety.
Hover
To move to and fro near a place.
The drone hovered around the building surveying the area.
Brooding
Displaying deep unhappiness of thought.
He had a brooding expression after the news.
Hover
To linger near a place.
Fans hovered around the movie star's car.
Brooding
The act of sitting on eggs to keep them warm until they hatch.
The hen was brooding in the coop.
Hover
To remain in one place in the air.
The helicopter hovered above the crowd.
Brooding
Pensive or morose.
Her brooding silence made everyone uneasy.
Hover
To fluctuate around a specific point, level, or condition.
The stock prices hovered around the $20 mark.
Brooding
A gathering or assembly of chicks under a hen.
The brooding gathered as the hen clucked.
Hover
To stay uncertainly in one condition or action.
He hovered between accepting and declining the offer.
Brooding
The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds hatched at one time and cared for together.
Hover
Remain in one place in the air
Army helicopters hovered overhead
Brooding
The children in one family.
Hover
An act of remaining in the air in one place
Keep the model in a stable hover
Brooding
To focus the attention on a subject persistently and moodily; worry
Brooded about his future.
Brooded over the insult for several days.
Hover
To remain floating, suspended, or fluttering in the air
Gulls hovering over the waves.
Brooding
To be depressed
All he seemed to do was sit and brood.
Hover
To remain or linger in or near a place
Hovering around the speaker's podium.
Brooding
To sit on or hatch eggs.
Hover
To remain in an uncertain state; waver
Hovered between anger and remorse.
Brooding
To protect developing eggs or young.
Hover
(Computers) To position a pointer over an object or area of the screen, causing a pop-up box to appear or other change to occur
Hover over the image to display the filename.
Brooding
To hover envelopingly; hang
Mist brooded over the moor.
Hover
To cause to hover
The pilot hovered the helicopter a few feet above the icy river.
Brooding
To think about (something) persistently or moodily
Brooded that her work might come to nothing.
Hover
(Computers) To position (a pointer) over an object or area of the screen
Hovered the cursor over the link.
Brooding
To sit on or hatch (eggs).
Hover
The act or state of hovering
A helicopter in hover.
Brooding
To protect (developing eggs or young).
Hover
(transitive)
Brooding
Kept for breeding
A brood hen.
Hover
To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air.
Brooding
(of a bird) Broody; incubating eggs by sitting on them.
A brooding hen can be aggressive.
Hover
Of a bird: to shelter (chicks) under its body and wings; (by extension) of a thing: to cover or surround (something).
Brooding
Deeply or seriously thoughtful.
Hover
(obsolete) Of a bird or insect: to flap (its wings) so it can remain stationary in the air.
Brooding
Present participle of brood
Hover
(intransitive)
Brooding
A spell of brooding; the time when someone broods.
Hover
To remain stationary or float in the air.
The hummingbird hovered by the plant.
Brooding
Worried and thinking long and intensely, especially about a particular problem.
Hover
(figuratively)
Brooding
Good at incubating eggs, especially of a fowl kept for that purpose; as, a brooding hen.
Hover
(computing) Chiefly followed by over: to use a mouse or other device to place a cursor over something on a screen such as a hyperlink or icon without clicking, so as to produce a result (such as the appearance of a tooltip).
A tooltip appears when you hover over this link.
Brooding
The process of sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body; - mostly used of birds.
Hover
(nautical) To travel in a hovercraft as it moves above a water surface.
Brooding
Sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
Hover
An act, or the state, of remaining stationary in the air or some other place.
Brooding
Persistent morbid meditation on a problem
Hover
A flock of birds fluttering in the air in one place.
Brooding
Persistently or morbidly thoughtful
Hover
(figuratively) An act, or the state, of being suspended; a suspension.
Hover
A cover; a protection; a shelter; specifically, an overhanging bank or stone under which fish can shelter; also, a shelter for hens brooding their eggs.
Hover
A cover; a shelter; a protection.
Hover
To hang fluttering in the air, or on the wing; to remain in flight or floating about or over a place or object; to be suspended in the air above something.
Great flights of birds are hovering about the bridge, and settling on it.
A hovering mist came swimming o'er his sight.
Hover
To hang about; to move to and fro near a place, threateningly, watchfully, or irresolutely.
Agricola having sent his navy to hover on the coast.
Hovering o'er the paper with her quill.
Hover
Be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action;
He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement
Hover
Move to and fro;
The shy student lingered in the corner
Hover
Hang in the air; fly or be suspended above
Hover
Be suspended in the air, as if in defiance of gravity;
The guru claimed that he could levitate
Hover
Hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing;
The terrible vision brooded over her all day long
Common Curiosities
Why do birds hover?
Birds hover to gain a better view of their surroundings, often for hunting or scanning for predators.
Can all birds brood?
Most birds can brood, though some, like cuckoos, lay their eggs in other birds' nests for them to brood.
Are there technological applications inspired by hovering?
Yes, technologies such as drones have been developed inspired by the hovering capabilities of birds and insects.
Can hovering be seen in aquatic animals?
Yes, certain fish like the hovercraft snailfish exhibit hovering behavior in water.
What is the energy cost of hovering compared to brooding?
Hovering is high-energy and active, while brooding is low-energy and passive.
Is brooding behavior learned or instinctual in animals?
Brooding behavior is mostly instinctual, particularly in birds.
What is brooding in animals?
Brooding refers to the act of animals, especially birds, sitting on their eggs to provide necessary warmth for hatching.
How do insects hover?
Insects like dragonflies and bees hover by rapidly flapping their wings to stay aloft.
What is psychological brooding?
Psychologically, brooding refers to the repetitive contemplation of negative feelings and thoughts.
What is the difference between hovering and flying?
Hovering involves maintaining a position in the air without significant horizontal movement, unlike flying, which involves movement from one location to another.
What is the importance of brooding in poultry farming?
In poultry farming, brooding is essential for raising chicks as it ensures their survival and proper growth.
What role does hovering play in aerial photography?
Hovering is crucial in aerial photography, allowing drones to stabilize and capture clear images.
Do all birds that hover also brood?
Not all birds that hover also brood; for example, male hummingbirds hover but do not brood.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
