Humming birds are a fascinating creation of nature. Hardly measuring more than your palm size, these tiny birds are a storehouse of immense power and energy. It is a member of the Trochilidae family. Humming birds get their name from the fact that when they beat their wings, it produces a humming sound, like that of bees. This tiny little bird can fly great distances without stopping even once due to immense power. It feeds mainly on nectar from flowers and also tiny insects. A hummingbird can survive for an average of 10 years in captivity, but in wild it survives for 3-5 years. Given below are some interesting facts about humming birds.
Interesting and Amazing Information on Hummingbirds
- Humming birds are found in North and South America. In the north, they can be found as far as Alaska and in the south, they can be spotted as far as southern Chile.
- The smallest hummingbird is the Bee Hummingbird. It is so small, it weighs a bit less than 2 grams and measures around 2 inches! The biggest humming bird is called the Giant hummingbird and is around 8 inches in length and weighs around 20 grams.
- Humming birds essentially feed on flower nectar along with small insects. They may also feed on pollen occasionally, but their main diet is nectar.
- Humming birds help in pollination as they carry pollen on their backs just like bees when they go from one flower to another in search of nectar. One humming bird visits around 1000-2000 flowers in a single day!
- Humming birds, on an average, beat their wings 80 times per second. However, in some species, it has been recorded that these creatures can beat their wings 200 times per second.
- An amazing fact about the humming bird is that it can fly up, down, forward, backward and even upside down. A humming bird can rotate its wings from its shoulder blades, which enables it to hover and fly in different positions.
- When active, a humming bird breathes around 300-500 times every minute. The heart of a humming bird makes up for around 20% of the body volume. The heartbeat ranges from 30-1500 per minute, depending on the specie and the activity.
