Hummingbirds are like tiny feather friends, which are easy to attract.It's very nice and fun to have these small creatures around. That's why many people use hummingbird feeders to attract these tiny birds in their gardens. Let's know more about these tiny creatures.

What is a hummingbird?

They belong to the avian family and are considered the closest relatives of the swifts.They are small enough and have only 2 to 20 grams weight with narrow bills and saber-like wings. The males have colorful gorgets with highly colored and Plumage — Birdwatchfacts.Com, reflective feathers on their throat and upper chest. Their shiny feathers around the head look black until the hummingbirds turn their head in the sun.

Hummingbird Superlatives

Smallest birds

They are the smallest birds in the world.Their smallest species is the bee hummingbird, which weighs only 1.95 grams. The fourth-smallest is the calliope hummingbird, which weighs only 2.5 grams. You can found the calliope hummingbirds in the mountains of western North America.

Tiniest eggs

They have the smallest eggs like their size.But may you would not believe that how small their eggs can be? Their eggs are so small that you can place the two eggs in a walnut shell. They make their nests with the help of spider webs and lay two eggs.

Avian Helicopter

The small size of the hummingbirds allows them tremendous agility in flight.In fact, hummingbirds are the only vertebrates that can sustain the hovering. They can fly backward and upside-down as well.

Fast heartbeat

They are also known for their fast heartbeat. A ruby-throated hummingbird heart can beat 225 to 1200 times per minute during their flying.Their wing speed is about 70 times per second during the direct flight, which can reach up to 200 times per second during diving.

Torpor state

You may be hearing about the hibernation state of the frogs. Hummingbirds are one of those groups of birds that are known for go into a torpor state.

It's a deep sleep state of the hummingbirds where their metabolic rate goes down to the minimum level with very low body temperature. When they maintain this state for a long time, we can call it hibernation. Hummingbirds usually go into the hibernation state depending upon the temperature and food conditions.

No sense of smell

They don't have any sense of smell. But they can find the hummingbird feeders and nectar flowers due to their good color vision. Most of the hummingbird species prefer orange and red colors. But, please don't use artificial nectar colors as these can be dangerous for hummingbirds.Instead, you can plant the natural red or orange color flowers.

Tongue speed

Hummingbirds' tongue speed helps them to feed enough nectar from the feeder according to their fast metabolic needs. They can move their tongue 13 times a second to drink the nectar from the feeder ports.They need double of their body weight nectar daily.

350 species

There are 350 species of hummingbirds in North and South America. The common hummingbird species of the American include the Rufous hummingbirds, Anna's hummingbirds, calliope hummingbirds, broad-tailed hummingbirds, ruby-throated hummingbirds, and black-chinned hummingbirds.

Where do hummingbirds live?

Almost 350 species of hummingbirds are usually found in the USA, from Tierra del Fuego to Southern Alaska.They can survive in the sea-level deserts to forests at the elevations of 16000 in the Andes of South America. Most hummingbird species live in the tropic regions, while 17 species are regular in the United States.

How can you help the hummingbirds?

Hummingbirds spend most of their life in search of food.

Most of the hummingbird areas has taken by humans, and the nectar flowers are hunt down. But fortunately, you can plant the nectar or hang the hummingbird feeders to help them. Some of the best hummingbird plants include the Bee balm, cardinal flower, trumpet creeper, coral honeysuckle, and columbine.

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