Hummingbirds are very one of the smallest birds with a high metabolism. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12â90 times per second. They are famous for more than their beauty and tiny size. Hummingbirds are only birds that can fly backward as well as forward. Hummingbirds are found in North, Central, and South America and also found in the islands of the West Indies. They can fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h, 34 mi/h). Their weight is about 0.106 ounces and has a length of 3.5-4 inches. Generally, they feed on nectar and insects. Hummingbirds have a hollow tongue like a straw. Their tongues do have groove on the sides that collect nectar.
Facts about Hummingbirds
There are more than 325 hummingbird species in the world. Only 8 species regularly breed in the United States, though up to two dozen species may visit the country.
A hummingbird’s wings beat between 50 and 200 flaps per second depending on the direction of flight and air conditions.
An average hummingbird’s heart rate is more than 1,200 beats per minute.
At rest, a hummingbird takes an average of 250 breaths per minute.
A hummingbird’s brilliant throat color is not caused by feather pigmentation, but rather by iridescence in the arrangement of the feathers and the influence of light level, moisture and other factors.
The average ruby-throated hummingbird weighs 3 grams. In comparison, a nickel weighs 4.5 grams.
From 25-30 percent of a hummingbird’s weight is in its pectoral muscles, the muscles principally responsible for flight.
A hummingbird’s maximum forward flight speed is 30 miles per hour, though the birds can reach up to 60 miles per hour in a dive.
Hummingbirds cannot walk or hop, though their feet can be used to scoot sideways while they are perched.
The calliope hummingbird is the smallest bird species in North America and measures just 3 inches long. The bee hummingbird is the smallest species and measures 2.25 inches long.
Hummingbirds have 1,000-1,500 feathers, the fewest number of feathers of any bird species in the world.
Hummingbirds lay the smallest eggs of all birds. They measure less than 1/2 inch long but may represent as much as 10 percent of the mother’s weight at the time the eggs are laid.
A hummingbird must consume approximately 1/2 of its weight in sugar daily, and the average hummingbird feeds 5-8 times per hour.
The rufous hummingbird has the longest migration of any hummingbird species with a distance of more than 3,000 miles from the bird’s nesting grounds in Alaska and Canada to its winter habitat in Mexico.
The ruby-throated hummingbird flies 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico during both its spring and fall migrations.
Depending on the species, habitat conditions, predators and other factors, the average lifespan of a wild hummingbird is 3-12 years.