A couple of weeks ago, Mom and I saw our first (and so far, only) hummingbird of the year. They’re such interesting little birds; I thought it would be fun to learn more about them.

Who Are They

The small birds we call hummingbirds all live in North, Central, or South America. While they range from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, most live in Central and South America. Only eight hummingbird species make the U.S. their home for part of each year, though seven others have been known to pop in on occasion for a visit. Most hummingbirds prefer tropical areas and seldom travel more than 700 miles from the equator.

The name, hummingbird, comes from the humming sound produced by the rapid beat of their wings when they fly. In direct flight, a large hummingbird’s wings will beat about twelve times per second, but a small hummingbird’s wings can beat upwards of ninety-nine times per second.

Did You Know…

• There are approximately 368 species of hummingbirds.
• The largest number of hummingbird species—around 130—live in Ecuador.
• The Bee hummingbird, common in Cuba, is the smallest bird in the world. It’s only about two inches long and weighs only about .0564 ounces. That’s less than a dime (.0800 ounces).
• The Giant hummingbird, found in the Andes Mountains of South America, averages 8.6-9.8 inches long and weighs 0.8-1.7 ounces.
• The Ruby-Throated hummingbirds and the Rufous hummingbirds are North America’s most common hummingbirds. They’re only about 2.8-3.5 inches long and most weigh less than two pennies.
• Some male hummingbirds can reach 200 wingbeats per second during courtship dives. During these dives, their angled wing and tail feathers create trilling noises that catch a female’s attention.
• Most hummingbirds don’t live for more than seven or eight years in the wild.
• Europe had hummingbirds until 30 million years ago. Scientists don’t know why they disappeared.
• In 2004, the oldest hummingbird fossil was found in Germany.
• Groups of hummingbirds are called by different names, including bouquet, hover, glittering, and shimmer.

Its Body

In proportion to its body, a hummingbird’s heart is five times larger than a human’s. It breathes twenty times faster and has a body temperature eight degrees higher than a human.

As with many other birds, the males are the more colorful (for attracting a mate, though they don’t mate for life) and the females more drab (for camouflage on the nest).

Females are slightly larger than males and have a longer bill. Both have tongues like tiny pumps to suck the nectar out of flowers and feeders.

The little birds are hardy souls. They can survive snow or freezing temperatures by putting themselves into a type of deep sleep or near-hibernation. In this state, the hummingbird uses up to fifty times less energy. (They also hang upside down and look dead, but don’t worry, once it warms up, they’ll pop right back to life.)

Did You Know…

• Depending on the species, a hummingbird’s heart can thump anywhere between 500 and 900 beats per minute. The fastest is 1,260 beats per minute.
• The gorget is the patch of colorful feathers covering a hummingbird’s throat. This color comes from feather structure not pigmentation.
• A hummingbird can flick its tongue into a flower up to seventeen times per second.
• The Sword-Billed hummingbird’s bill is longer than its body.
• An average-sized hummingbird has 940 feathers.

Home and Food

The female hummingbird uses spider webs to weave tiny, comfy, cup-like nests with leaves, moss, and fuzzy plant parts (think cattails). She camouflages the nest by sticking moss to the outside, then lays one to three eggs that look like small white jellybeans on the inside.

The male bird doesn’t help build the nest; incubate, feed, or raise the young.

Hummingbirds may be small, but they have big appetites. To fuel their metabolism, they need to eat every ten to fifteen minutes. Their main food source is high-octane flower nectar (and tree sap, when holes have already been drilled by sapsuckers), but they need more than just nectar. They also need protein and other nutrients. To get these, they eat insects (snapped up in mid-flight) and small spiders (plucked right off the web or a plant).

Did You Know…

• A hummingbird’s nest stretches as the eggs hatch and the baby birds grow.
• A hummingbird’s daily sugar intake is half of its body weight, except during heavy travel times. Then, it may eat up to eight times its body weight.
• Like many people, hummingbirds prefer maple tree sap.
• A hummingbird can eat hundreds of fruit flies daily.
• An average-sized man with the metabolism of a hummingbird would have to eat 285 pounds of meat daily to fuel his body.
• A fine mist or sparkly bubbles are what a hummingbird looks for when it wants water.
• Red dye added to hummingbird sugar water can make them sick.
• Hummingbirds don’t like roses, black-eyed susans, irises, daylilies, coneflowers, Shasta daisies, and oriental poppies. Basically, they don’t like most large-opening flowers. Rather, they prefer tiny flowers like lilacs and hummingbird mint plants.

To Be Continued…

Who knew there was so much to learn about hummingbirds! Come back next week to discover what other fascinating things they can do.