Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are special birds found only in the Americas. They belong to a group called Trochilidae and there are about 375 different kinds, or species, of them. Most live in Central and South America, but you can find them as far north as Alaska and as far south as Tierra del Fuego. Some of these birds are in danger because their numbers are getting smaller.

Hummingbirds are very small—the smallest ones are just about as big as a person's hand! The tiniest hummingbird is called the bee hummingbird, and it weighs less than a piece of paper. The biggest is the giant hummingbird. They have long beaks and love to drink sweet liquid called nectar from flowers, but they also eat tiny bugs.

What makes hummingbirds special is how they fly. Their wings move very fast, making a buzzing sound that gives them their name. They can hover in one spot, like a helicopter, and move very quickly in any direction. Some hummingbirds can even fly backwards! Because they use so much energy, they need to eat often. At night or when food is hard to find, they can rest in a special sleep-like state called torpor to save energy.

One kind of hummingbird, the rufous hummingbird, travels very far—almost 4,000 miles each way between Alaska and Mexico twice every year! Hummingbirds have been around for a very long time, with fossils showing they lived in Europe millions of years ago.

Description

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds known today, and they are related to avian theropod dinosaurs. Many have shiny, colorful feathers, especially the males, which gives them fun names like sun gem, fairy, woodstar, sapphire, or sylph.

Hummingbirds come in different sizes. The tiniest one, the bee hummingbird, is only about 6 centimeters long and weighs around 2 grams. The largest is the giant hummingbird, which can weigh up to 31 grams and have a wingspan of 21.5 centimeters. They have long, thin beaks and wings that let them fly like a helicopter — up, down, and even backwards! Their wings move very fast to make the humming sound.

Hummingbirds build tiny cup-shaped nests using spider webs, lichens, and plant fibers. They usually lay two very small white eggs. The babies, called nestlings, leave the nest after about three weeks and start learning to fly.

Many hummingbird species are losing numbers because of things like losing their homes, hitting windows, and changes in weather. Some species are doing well, like Anna's hummingbirds, which have grown in number and moved to colder areas.

Range

See also: List of Apodiformes by population

Hummingbirds live in the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, including the Caribbean islands. Most of these birds are found in warm, tropical areas of Central and South America, but some live in cooler places and even high mountains.

Countries like Colombia and Ecuador have many kinds of hummingbirds, while places such as the United States, Canada, and Chile have fewer. The most hummingbird species are in the forests of the northern Andes mountains.

Taxonomy and systematics

Further information: List of hummingbird species

Hummingbirds belong to a family of birds called Trochilidae. This family was named in 1825. Traditionally, they are grouped with swifts in the order Apodiformes, but some scientists think they should have their own order called Trochiliformes.

Hummingbirds have very thin, fragile wing bones, which makes it hard for scientists to study their history through fossils. Most hummingbird species live in Central and South America, and there are about 375 known species. They are divided into two main groups: hermits and typical hummingbirds. Recent studies show that hermits are closely related to topazes and jacobins.

Scientists have found fossils of hummingbirds in places like Brazil and the Bahamas, dating back to ancient times. In 2004, two very old fossils were discovered in Germany, showing that hummingbirds once lived in Europe long ago. These fossils were found in a museum and were recognized only later as hummingbirds. Fossils from around 35 to 40 million years ago have also been found in places like Germany and the Caucasus, suggesting that hummingbirds and related birds split around that time. Scientists are still learning about how hummingbirds changed and spread from Europe to the Americas over millions of years.

Evolution

Hummingbirds separated from other birds, like swifts and treeswifts, about 42 million years ago, likely in Eurasia. Even though they are now found in the Americas, the earliest hummingbirds lived in Europe during the early Oligocene period, around 34 to 28 million years ago.

Modern hummingbirds originated in South America, with their last common ancestor living around 22 million years ago. Studies show that hummingbirds quickly diversified from this point. They evolved into nine main groups, including topazes, hermits, mangoes, brilliants, coquettes, mountaingems, bees, and emeralds. These birds developed special relationships with flowering plants, which helped them spread to new areas. Their unique shapes and behaviors often match the flowers they visit, helping both the birds and plants survive.

The Andes Mountains provided a rich environment for hummingbird evolution, with many new species appearing as the mountains rose over the past 10 million years. Hummingbirds continue to diversify across South America, North America, and the Caribbean. They have a special connection with plants that produce nectar, evolving together over millions of years. Some hummingbirds, like the sword-billed hummingbird, have very long, curved beaks that match the shape of certain flowers.

Hummingbirds and the flowers they visit share a close relationship. While feeding on nectar, hummingbirds help pollinate the flowers. They prefer bright red, yellow, or purple flowers without scent or landing platforms, and with long tubes filled with sweet nectar. These flowers are less attractive to insects, which helps protect the nectar for the birds. Hummingbirds can see certain colors that insects cannot, further helping them find the right flowers.

Sexual dimorphisms

Hummingbirds show differences between males and females in size and bill shape. In smaller species, males are usually smaller than females, while in larger species, males can be bigger. Females often have longer, curved bills that help them reach nectar from tall flowers. These differences help males save energy for flying displays and females get enough food for their larger bodies.

Hummingbirds also have bright and beautiful feather colors, especially in males. These colors come from special cells in their feathers and can change depending on the light and the bird's position. Protein in their diet can also affect how colorful their feathers become.

Specialized characteristics and metabolism

Hummingbirds are named for the loud, pleasant sound their wings make when they fly or hover. This sound helps them talk to each other and find friends or mates. Their wings move very fast, creating this special sound.

Hummingbirds can see very well, even in the dark, and can find tiny insects or flowers from far away. Their eyes are special and help them see clearly while they fly quickly.

Hummingbirds eat a lot of sugary food, like from flowers, to get energy for their fast flying. They can use this sugar right away to keep flying, even for long trips. Their bodies are built to use this sugar very efficiently.

When it gets cold or they can't find food, hummingbirds can slow down their bodies almost to sleep. This helps them save energy until they can eat again. Some hummingbirds can live for many years if they stay healthy.

Natural enemies

Hummingbirds have a few natural enemies. Domestic cats are often one of the biggest threats to hummingbirds when they are not nested. Other animals like praying mantises, dragonflies, frogs, spiders, small birds such as Sharp-shinned Hawks and American Kestrels, snakes, and roadrunners can also hunt hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds can also carry tiny parasites called lice. Some special types of lice, called Ricinid lice, are often found on them. Another type of lice, called Menoponid lice, is less common on hummingbirds.

Reproduction

Male hummingbirds do not help with building nests or caring for the young. Most species build a small, cup-shaped nest on a tree or shrub branch. These nests can be as small as half a walnut shell or a few centimeters across.

Hummingbirds use spider silk and lichen to hold the nest together, which helps it stretch as the babies grow. They lay two white eggs, which are the smallest of all bird eggs but seem large compared to the adult bird. The eggs take between 14 to 23 days to hatch, depending on the species and temperature. The mother feeds her babies a mix of tiny insects and nectar. The young hummingbirds stay in the nest for about 18 to 22 days before leaving to find food on their own, though the mother may still feed them for another few weeks.

walnut
spider silk
Incubation
arthropods
nestling
crop

Flight

Hummingbirds can fly in amazing ways, and scientists have studied this using special tools like wind tunnels and video cameras. They found that when hummingbirds fly, their wings move in a figure-8 pattern. The birds use most of their strength on the downstroke to stay in the air.

Earlier ideas thought hummingbirds used equal strength on both strokes, like some insects. But new studies show this isn't true. Hummingbirds have special wings and muscles made just for flying. Some can beat their wings as fast as 80 times per second! When it rains, they shake their heads and bodies to dry off, and they change how they fly to stay steady in heavy rain.

Wingbeats and flight stability

The fastest wingbeats recorded are over 99 beats per second! During special dances to show off, some hummingbirds can beat their wings even faster. Even when the air is windy, hummingbirds can stay steady by changing how they move their wings and using their tail feathers like a fan. Their excellent vision helps them stay in place even when everything around them is moving.

Feather sounds

Courtship dives

Male Anna's hummingbirds fly high above a female and then dive down very fast. This creates a high-pitched sound as they get close to the female. This dive is one of the fastest movements known in any animal.

The outer tail feathers of some male hummingbirds vibrate during these dives, making a chirping sound. This sound comes from the way air moves past the feathers. Hummingbirds need these feathers to make this special sound during courtship.

Many other hummingbird species also make sounds with their wings or tails while flying, hovering, or diving.

Wing feather trill

Some male hummingbirds, like rufous and broad-tailed hummingbirds, have a special feature on their wings that makes a jingling or buzzing sound during flight. This sound comes from air moving through their wing feathers.

This trill helps tell other hummingbirds that they are male, defend their feeding areas, show they are a threat, and attract mates.

Migration

Only a small number of hummingbird species migrate. Out of about 375 species, just 12 to 15 migrate each year, mostly those in North America. Most hummingbirds live in the tropical rainforests of Amazonia and Central America, where the weather and food stay fairly constant, so they don’t need to travel far.

Some hummingbirds in South America, like the southern giant hummingbird and northern giant hummingbird, travel long distances between sea level and very high mountains. They move between Chile and Ecuador, covering over 8,335 kilometers (5,179 miles).

In North America, many hummingbirds fly south in the fall to spend winter in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, or Central America. A few stay year-round in places like Florida, California, and the southwestern deserts of the US. The rufous hummingbird travels the farthest, flying from Alaska to Mexico and back, covering thousands of miles. This tiny bird makes one of the longest journeys of any bird in the world.

Feeding

Hummingbirds mainly eat nectar from flowers, which gives them most of their energy. They have special long, probing beaks and tongues to reach the nectar inside flowers. Their intestines can quickly absorb the sugars from nectar, making it a good energy source for them.

Besides nectar, hummingbirds also eat tiny insects and spiders. This helps them get extra nutrients that nectar doesn't provide. They catch insects while flying or pick them from spider webs. Even though insects aren't their main food, they are important for the birds' health.

Hummingbirds visit many flowers each day to get enough energy. They like flowers that are colorful, especially red, and open during the day. Some flowers have special shapes that only certain hummingbirds can feed from.

When people put out special feeders with sugar water, hummingbirds will visit them. This helps people watch the birds up close, but it can also mean the birds might visit flowers less, which affects how plants get pollinated. It's best to use simple sugar water without any extra ingredients for the feeders.

Hummingbirds have excellent vision and can see differences in colors very well, helping them find flowers and feeders. They also use landmarks to remember where the best food spots are.

In myth and culture

People have admired hummingbirds for a long time. The Aztecs wore special items shaped like hummingbirds and made from their parts to show strength and energy. They believed the god of war, Huitzilopochtli, looked like a hummingbird and thought warriors who died in battle would come back as these birds.

One of the famous Nazca Lines shows a hummingbird. Trinidad and Tobago calls itself "The land of the hummingbird" and has the bird on its coat of arms, coins, and airline. There is even a mountain in Northern California named after these birds. A well-known guitar model, the Gibson Hummingbird, has a design that looks like a hummingbird.

During a beauty contest in 2016, a contestant from Ecuador wore a costume that looked like hummingbird feathers.