There are over 300 species of hummingbirds. “Hummingbird bee” or “Dwarf bee” (Mellisuga helenae) is one of the smallest members of the family.
Description
The length of the body from the beak to the tail is only a few centimeters, and the weight is two grams. This little bird is lighter than one ostrich feather! The size of a newly hatched hummingbird chick is approximately 0.5 cm. This baby has a very colorful feather color.
Feathers are green in males; against this background, a bright red neck, dark gray abdomen, and a bluish-blue back stand out. Females are distinguished by a rich white tail, the back, like the males, is green, and the lower part of the body is slightly lighter, has a gray-white color.
Hummingbird habitat
For the most part, these excellent creatures live in South and North America. They can be found in Cuba, Alaska, Arizona and on the coast of Nova Scotia. They live in rural fields and gardens, as well as mountain forests.
What is a hummingbird?
It is a misconception that hummingbirds eat exclusively flower nectar. Birds need a lot of protein, so basically their food consists of midges, flies, mosquitoes and spiders. Hummingbirds consume such a quantity of food on a day that is twice the weight of the bird itself, so winged creatures can maintain an accelerated metabolism and temperature stability of their tiny bodies.
About every five to ten minutes, hummingbirds eat something. If you create the top of the most insatiable birds, then the hummingbird would take the gold. When collecting nectar, a tiny creature flies from one flower to another, thereby pollinating them. This is the "work" of the hummingbird.
Why does a hummingbird fly constantly?
These birds have very weak legs, because of which they cannot walk, but constantly fly. Because of this, people get the impression that such birds never get tired. Moreover, they fly in any direction and can hang in the air in one place, like a helicopter. At this point, their wings make about 55 flaps per second.
The wings move so fast that their outlines blur and become almost invisible. In flight. Gigantic hummingbirds have a speed of about 115 kilometers per hour, which is a record among birds.
Hummingbird Heart
Due to the active lifestyle, the bird has an insanely well developed heart, the volume of which is 3 times the volume of the stomach. This "motor" occupies most of the already miniature body. Over the life of this baby, the heart contracts 4.5 billion times. If compared with a human heart, then in 70 years it makes 2 times less strokes than a hummingbird heart.
Hummingbird Beak
A huge number of species of this family differ in size and shape of their beaks. It is this factor that affects the choice of plants for pollination. It is more convenient for birds with a small beak to eat from flatter flowers, and those who have got a long elongated beak feed on nectar from narrow, funnel-shaped inflorescences.
The longest beak in the family of these birds is the “Mechbill Hummingbird”.Its length can be 10 centimeters, and this is twice the size of the bird itself. This hummingbird representative has emerald-colored feathers, the belly is dark gray, and the area behind the eyes has a characteristic white pigmentation.
The whole hummingbird family is characterized by an incredibly beautiful feather color resembling precious stones, especially when the feathers begin to play with a riot of colors under the bright sun. It is for this reason that the bird is often given poetic names associated with stones: amethyst, topaz, emerald and many others.
Social structure and reproduction
These wonderful birds do not live in pairs. The female is independently engaged in raising chicks and building a nest. The material used to construct the house is pieces of grass, cobwebs, a cannon of other birds, and small fragments of bark. The parameters of "housing" are determined by the size of the bird and can be in diameter like half a walnut shell or a tea cup. Basically, at one time the female lays two eggs, less often one. Hatch them for about 18 days. If necessary, the brave mommy will boldly stand up for her cubs, even if the attacker is several times bigger than her. Hummingbirds have a lifespan of approximately 9 years.
The largest species of hummingbird
The largest representative of the family is the “Gigantic Hummingbird” (Patagona gigas). This species can be identified by its brown color with a green tint, as well as the red-brown abdomen. The body length of a hummingbird of this species can reach 22 centimeters, and weight - about 18-20 grams.In addition to size, these individuals differ from their relatives by a rather long beak and a fork-shaped tail, like a swallow.
Hummingbirds are incredibly unique creatures that differ from other winged creatures in their lifestyle and structure, and most importantly in size. In this regard, for many years it has been of incredible interest to nature lovers.
