5/16/2023 0 Comments Hummingbird![]() ![]() They have evolved unique characteristics such as narrow elongated beaks, extendable tongues and hovering flight, all of which allow them to exploit nectar resources. Hummingbirds feed primarily on the nectar of flowers and supplement their diet with small insects. The hummingbird family is divided into two sub-families: Phaethornithinae (hermits) composed of 34 species and a larger group, Trochilinae (trochilines or "typical" hummingbirds), with 294 species. Although the number of genera and species in this group changes continually, currently there are 102 recognized genera and 328 species of hummingbirds. The family Trochilidae belongs to its own Suborder, Trochili. Hummingbirds have been known to fall prey to Bull Frogs, Praying Mantis and large spiders.Hummingbirds belong to the order Apodiformes, meaning, "unfooted birds." There are three families in this order: Trochilidae (hummingbirds), Hemiprocnidae (tree swifts), and Apodidae (swifts).Anna’s Hummingbird flashes neon pink Costa’s is violet Magnificent is green Ruby-throated is ruby-red and the Blue-throated is vivid blue. Some of these unique throat colors can be used to identify specific male species. The male hummingbird’s gorget (throat patch) is iridescent and reflects certain color wavelengths.The iridescence in the hummingbird’s feathers has led them to be called the “jewels of the garden.”.Hummingbirds can be very feisty and aggressive when defending their territories and will even chase away much larger birds.Similar to a type of short-term hibernation, torpor reduces their metabolic activity and drops their heart rate from 1,200 beats per minute to 50 beats per minute. During the night, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds can enter into a state of torpor to save energy.To keep their feathers in top shape, hummingbirds will leaf-bathe by fluttering against wet leaves.Hummers avoid deep water, but will bathe in shallow pools or dishes, and love to take showers in sprinklers and misters.Their wings beat 20-80 times per second.They can do this because of an extremely mobile shoulder joint. They can hover and are the only birds able to fly backwards and upside down.Hummingbirds can fly up to 60 miles per hour, but typically fly at 30-45 miles per hour.One research study recorded an Anna’s Hummingbird visiting over a 1,000 flower blossoms a day.They use their bill and not their tongue to catch insects. They eat insects and insect eggs on the ground and in trees.Female Hummingbirds’ tongues are longer than the males. ![]() While lapping up nectar, Hummingbirds can move their tongues in and out of their bill at a rate of up to 12 times a second.Hummingbirds can extend their tongue approximately a distance equal to the length of their bill.There is a groove on either side of the tongue that creates a capillary action to help draw the nectar up the tongue and into the mouth during the lapping action. Hummingbirds lap up nectar with their long tongues.They drink nectar from plants and sugar water from feeders.Hummingbirds can drink up to twice their body weight in nectar every day (most birds only eat ¼ - ½ their body weight).You can help birds through such emergencies by providing extra feeders even simply serving sugar water in any small dish for a few days. During one freeze, killing food sources, a male Anna’s was seen to kill another, using its bill as a spear.Each hummingbird must learn the association between red flowers and food. They do not have an innate preference for red.Hummingbirds eat about every 10 minutes.Only about 20% of Ruby-throated Hummingbird fledglings survive their first year.The nest is about the size of a golf ball around 1 ½ inches in diameter.Hummingbirds use spider webs as glue to attach the nest to a tree branch as well as a binding agent for the building materials.Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will have two broods, each taking 45 days from nest construction to fledging.Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have one of the highest nesting success rates of any Neotropical migrant.Hummingbirds generally lay 2 eggs about the size of a blueberry.Hummingbirds lay the world’s smallest bird egg.A mother hummingbird weighs only about eight times more than her egg.Hummingbirds have such underdeveloped legs that they are unable to walk.Hummingbirds’ brains are about the size of a BB.Hummingbirds weigh 1/10th of an ounce about the weight of a penny.There are over 325 species of Hummingbirds, making them the second largest bird family in the world, second only to flycatchers.The oldest known wild Hummingbird on recorded was a Broad-tailed Hummingbird that was over 12 years old.Hummingbirds are found no where else in the world except the New World (North, Central, and South America.) There are 18 hummingbird species in North America. ![]()
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