Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are any of the 300-odd species of small, brightly-colored birds belonging to the family Trochilidae. Native to the New World, these are some of the smallest birds that exist and are named so because of the humming noise created by their flapping wings. Hummingbirds resemble sunbirds and honeyeaters in behavior and appearance.

Physical Description and Appearance

Size: Hummingbirds vary in size and have an average length of 3-5 inches. The smallest living hummingbird species is the bee hummingbird, which measures 2 inches in length. The largest is the giant hummingbird, measuring 9.1 inches.

Weight: Their body mass varies depending on their size. The bee hummingbird weighs less than 2.0 g, and the giant hummingbird has a weight of about 18-24 g.

Color: Male hummingbirds have bright plumage that helps in territorial competition and courtship. The prismal cells, along with melanin and carotenoid pigmentation, give their head, breast, gorget, back, and wings varied coloration. Their common feather colors include purple, red, orange, pink, white, black, and blue.

Sexual Dimorphism: The different hummingbird species display sexual size dimorphism. In small-bodied species, the males are not as big as the females. In large-bodied species, however, the males are comparatively larger than females. In some species, females have longer and more curved bills than males.

Distribution

Hummingbirds inhabit the Americas, extending from south-central Alaska to the Tierra del Fuego and the Caribbean. The majority of the hummingbird species are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of North, Central, and South America, while some occur in temperate climates and at great altitudes in the Andean highlands.

What Kind of Habitats do Hummingbirds live in

They are remarkably found in diverse habitats such as grasslands, meadows, marshes, riparian corridors, canyons, desert scrublands, as well as tropical, coniferous, and deciduous forests. Hummingbirds are typically found in large numbers in places where there is an abundance of plants and insects.

Lifespan

Among the most common North American species of hummingbirds, the average life expectancy is about 3-5 years. The longest-lived wild specimen is a broad-tailed hummingbird that survived for about 12 years.

Diet

For obtaining nutrients, hummingbirds feed on a wide range of insects, including fruit flies, gnats, and mosquitoes in flight, spiders in the web, and aphids on leaves. They drink nectar from flowers to meet their energy demands.

Behavior

• Hummingbirds hover in midair by flapping their wings at a fast rate, which varies from 12 beats/second in the large species to 80 beats/second in some of the smaller hummingbird species.
• These birds fly within swarms of insects using a method known as ‘hover-hawking’, which help them in hunting their prey.
• If there is a scarcity of food, hummingbirds go into torpor, which is a state of low physiological activity to slow down their metabolic rate and conserve energy.
• They have the ability to sing songs, which consist of squeaks, whistles, chirps, and buzzes. Hummingbirds also acquire different sounds through imitation and produce several vocalizations.
• During courtship, male Anna’s hummingbirds soar to a height of about 35 m above a female and then dive at an incredible speed of 27 m/s.
• North American hummingbirds travel southward in the fall and spend the winter months in the Caribbean Islands, Central America, or Mexico. A few South American species, on the other hand, migrate to the tropics during winter in the southern hemisphere.

Adaptations

• Their long, narrow beak, as well as the tongue helps them to reach for the nectar inside the brightly-colored, tubular flowers.
• They have an amazing memory and can remember any feeding source used in the past.
• Hummingbirds have relatively large eyes, which consist of a large number of retinal neurons, providing them with excellent vision. They have four color-sensitive cones that help them in distinguishing colors and possibly play a role in territorial defense, predator evasion, and courtship displays.
• These small birds have pectoralis muscles made up of fast-twitch muscle fibers, which allow their wings to flutter up to 80-100 times per second and help in achieving flight stability.
• Their extremely high heart rate during a flight (about 1260 beats/minute) allows for quick blood circulation and fast oxygen delivery to the muscles.

Mating and Reproduction

The males display their brightly-colored plumage and perform wing feather trills during courtship. In some species, male hummingbirds ascend about 35m above the female and dive at high speeds, creating a high-pitched sound to attract the attention of its probable mate.

Only the females participate in building a nest (usually cup-shaped) on shrubs or branches of trees. While the nests vary in size depending on the species, many of these birds use lichen and spider silk to tighten the material and secure the structure.

After building the nest, the female hummingbird lays two white eggs, which are incubated for 14-23 days. The mother feeds the nestlings on nectar and arthropods by putting its bill into their open mouth. The nestlings usually leave the nest after 18-22 days to feed on their own.

What does a Baby Hummingbird look like

Depending on the species, the chicks weigh about 0.5-0.6 grams and are approximately one inch long. They have short and stubby beaks and are not capable of regulating their body heat.

Conservation Status

While several species, including the ruby-throated hummingbird and Anna’s hummingbird, have been listed as ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN, nine species, including the sapphire-bellied hummingbird, are ‘Critically Endangered’.

Hummingbird – FAQs

Interesting Facts

• Hummingbirds can perceive the sweetness of nectar and drink only from the flowers that produce nectar with more than ten percent sugar content.
• They have the highest basal metabolic rate among all animals that can regulate their internal body temperature. Their breathing rate is 250 breaths/minute, even at rest.