Hummingbirds are the world’s tiniest birds. They are little birds, weighing between two and twenty grams. Females are larger than males in size. Despite being the world’s smallest bird, they have the fastest wingbeats than any other bird species. The rapid flapping of the wings produces a humming sound, which is where they got their name. So here are 35 fascinating facts about this adorable and sweet creature.
- Each day a hummingbird eats about half of its total body weight in sugar and may have a meal every ten minutes. In eight hours duration, the bird may consume about forty-eight small meals.
- A hummingbird can also consume hundreds of fruit flies every day.
- They are the only bird on the planet that can also fly sideways and backways.
- A hummingbird’s eggs are so small that they are about the size of a pea, and it holds the tag of being the smallest bird egg in the world.
- A newborn hummingbird is about an inch long and weighs about one-third of a penny coin.
- A Sword-billed hummingbird can have a beak of over four inches, almost as long as the rest of its body.
- Hummingbirds eats upto 2,000 meals a day as they visit about 1500-2000 flowers a day and they hibernate every night.
- Hummingbirds have a lifespan of over 3-5 years.
- The hummingbird’s brain is very small, consisting of 4.2 percent of its total body weight, which is proportionately the largest among birds.
- The smallest bird on the planet is the bee hummingbird. The bird is 2.24 inches long and weighs only 1.6g – 2 g.
- While resting, they take 250 breaths per minute.
- Hummingbirds can easily see in ultraviolet lights.
- They also have a great memory as they can remember every feeder or flower they fed.
- Hummingbirds are primarily attracted to bright colors, red being their favorite.
- While diving, a hummingbird can reach speeds up to 50mph (80 kph) and have an average speed of 20 to 30 miles per hour (32-50 kph).
- During flights, they move their flaps about 50 -200 times per minute, depending upon conditions like air, their purpose of flight, and the direction of their flight.
- Costa Rica has 52 different types of humming bird. At the same time, there are over 325+ species of them all over the world.
- Hummingbirds are native to South America.
- In central and native America, hummingbirds are seen as a sign of good luck, joy, healers, and love.
- Hummingbirds do not have a sense of smell.
- To make an ounce of hummingbirds, you’ll be needed an average of about 18 hummingbirds.
- While feeding themselves, they use their split tongues, which they can fold like tubes, and it looks in the shape of the word “W.”
- They also have tiny hairs on their tongues that help them to grab the sugar fluid in the flowers.
- Being the smallest bird on the globe, they become easy targets of insects and other birds like hawks, owls, crows, roadrunners, orioles, grackles, gulls, and herons.
- Hummingbird’s heart rate beats at over 1,200 beats per minute on average. Whereas in humans, the average heartbeat is around 60 to 100 beats per minute.
- There are over five main subspecies of hummingbirds Rufous, Allen’s, Anna’s, Ruby-throated, and Costa’s.
- A ruby-throated hummingbird weighs less than 5 grams (0.2 oz). They have to beat its wing about 52 times a minute when in front of the flower.
- The bee hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird. It weighs 1.6-2 grams and has a size of about 5-6.1 cm.
- Bee hummingbird lays the smallest egg in the world in all animal kingdom. Its egg is just under 0.5” x 0.25” and weighs a mere .5 grams (0.02 oz).
- The first ancestor of the hummingbird started evolving around 22 million years ago in South America.
- The Rufous hummingbird is the world’s smallest migrant bird. It is less than 4 inches. (9 cm) long and flies every year from Alaska and northwest Canada to Mexico and make a trip of 4,000 miles (6,437 km).
- Hummingbirds have 1000-1500 feathers which are very few in number as compared to other birds. They manage with so few feathers because of their size and weight.
- While feeding themselves from flower’s they lick them 10 to 15 minutes per second.
- Blue-throated Hummingbirds can produce ultrasonic sounds of up to 30 kHz.
- Hummingbirds have a hearing sound range between 1 kHz to 4kHz, which is roughly very much similar to human hearing.
- When the food is scarce, they get into a hibernation state so that they can conserve energy.
