Elegance and Grace: 35 Fascinating Facts About the Smallest Bird in the World — the Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are a whole family of birds, with over 300 species of these magnificent creatures. These amazing beings resemble dragonflies, moving swiftly and lightly from flower to flower. These tiny, agile birds stand out due to their shimmering plumage, which changes appearance every time, reflecting sunlight in all the colors of the rainbow.

These charming birds appeared on Earth about 40 million years ago and were once widespread in Central America, and later, in Europe. Today, they predominantly inhabit the tropical regions of South and North America, though some can even be found as far north as southern Alaska.

The bee hummingbird weighs an average of 2 grams, while its relative, the giant hummingbird, is 10 times heavier, though its body length does not exceed 21 cm. And these are just a few interesting facts about these miniature beauties.

Hummingbirds: Sacred Birds

The Aztecs revered hummingbirds as sacred birds. According to ancient legends, the birds were believed to be the reincarnations of brave warriors who died in battle. The fierce Sun and war god, Huitzilopochtli, was also depicted as a colorful, mysterious bird.

Shamans from the Pueblo tribes use hummingbirds in their secret rituals, believing that their bright feathers can summon rain according to mystical beliefs.
Many legends are associated with these unique creatures. The Chayama people of Trinidad honor them as embodiments of ancestral spirits. In Puerto Rican folklore, a hummingbird on a red flower symbolizes eternal love.

35 Fascinating Facts About Hummingbirds

1. The tiny bird’s heart takes up nearly a third of its body volume — a true record.
2. At rest, its heart beats 500 times per minute and over 1,200 beats per minute in flight.
3. Throughout its life, a hummingbird’s heart will beat more than 4 billion times.
4. The little exotic bird has several times more red blood cells than other birds.
5. It’s impossible to see a hummingbird’s fluttering wings: it flaps them up to 100 times per second, producing a buzzing sound similar to some insects. Males of one species double this incredible number while courting a mate.
6. Hummingbirds live an average of 8-10 years. The oldest known hummingbird lived to be 17 years old.
7. These birds are not known for fidelity, often changing partners.
8. Their primary diet consists of flower nectar, and they are just as valuable pollinators as bees. They may also consume small arthropods.
9. Hummingbirds feed while flying. If you compare food intake by body mass, an elephant eats 100 times less than a hummingbird in a day. For humans, this would be equivalent to consuming 300 hamburgers daily. Despite their enormous appetite, hummingbirds never suffer from obesity due to their fast metabolism.
10. Their tongues are split at the end, similar to reptiles, which helps hold nectar and quickly transport food to the throat.
11. Despite their tiny size, hummingbirds are incredibly hardy. During migration season, they can cover up to 1,000 kilometers in a day.
12. Their accelerated metabolism forces them to eat every 15-20 minutes. Without food, they would starve to death within 2 hours.
13. Two hummingbirds are depicted on the official coat of arms of the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, symbolizing the region’s rich biodiversity.
14. These colorful birds are flying virtuosos, performing complex aerial maneuvers. They can fly sideways, backward, and even upside-down, defying the laws of physics.
15. Hummingbirds can hover almost motionlessly over flowers. Their wings trace a figure-eight pattern in the air, keeping their bodies in place. Apart from hummingbirds, the only other creature capable of this aerial trick is the hawk moth butterfly.
16. Ornithologists note that their skeletal and wing structures are perfectly adapted to their lifestyle. The shoulder bones are straight and short, the wing bones are hollow and can withstand significant stress, and the shoulder joints can rotate 180 degrees, while others are partially or completely immobile, providing rigidity to their forelimbs.
17. When diving, a hummingbird can travel a distance 400 times the length of its body in just one second. By all measures, they outperform the most modern fighter jets.
18. In mere seconds, these true aces can accelerate to speeds of 70-80 km/h and stop just as quickly. The absolute speed record during short flights reaches up to 150 km/h.
19. Hummingbirds can skillfully maneuver even in heavy rain — a critical survival skill in harsh conditions.
20. Many bird species are endangered due to hunting for their luxurious feathers.
21. The sword-billed hummingbird has the longest beak in the world. With a body length of 17-23 cm, its thin, slightly curved beak can grow up to 11 cm or more. It helps the bird extract nectar from funnel-shaped flowers, inaccessible to other birds.
22. The ruby-throated hummingbird resides in Canada and winters in Mexico and Panama. The distance between the endpoints of its migration route exceeds 5,000 kilometers. Such an exhausting marathon would fatigue most large birds, but the delicate hummingbird handles it without deadly exhaustion.
23. Hummingbird wings account for 40% of their muscle mass.
24. To actively supply oxygen to their muscles, hummingbirds have developed a unique respiratory system through evolution. It includes not only lungs but also 9 air sacs connected to them. Muscles squeeze air from these additional reserves directly into the conical respiratory organ.
25. These extraordinary creatures occasionally enter a state of torpor. During the day, their body temperature reaches 40°C but drops to 18°C at night. Their breathing slows down, and energy consumption decreases to a minimum. At dawn, the hummingbird emerges from this anabiotic state.
26. The remarkable bird’s brain is no bigger than a grain of rice, but its memory does not suffer from its size. Once a hummingbird has drained nectar from a flower, it won’t return to it.
27. Female hummingbirds differ from males in the shape and color of the feathers on their heads and tails. Males tend to be brighter and more striking.
28. Hummingbirds build nests on bushes and trees. Some species prefer leaves or cliffs, attaching nests with their saliva. They use materials such as moss, grass, animal fur, and spider webs for construction.
29. Only the females build nests and raise chicks. They lay 1-2 eggs, and in case of danger, the mother bravely attacks predators with her tiny beak.
30. The size of a hummingbird’s nest depends on the species. The smallest nests are about the size of a walnut.
31. Natural predators of hummingbirds include tree snakes and tarantulas.
32. Many species are named after their stunning appearances, such as “fire opal,” “emerald throat,” “flying amethyst,” and “snow-capped hummingbird.”
33. Giant hummingbirds live in the mountains.
34. The endangered species known as the Esmeralda hummingbird is found only in the dry forests of Central America. The size of these forests is rapidly decreasing, as is the population of the tropical forest’s wild inhabitants.
35. To protect the rare hummingbird population, the government of Honduras canceled a decision to build a major highway that would have crossed the habitat of the endangered species.