Hummingbirds are among the smallest birds in the world, but despite their diminutive size, they are one of the species that attracts the most attention, due to their striking and brilliant colors, their stylized and delicate shape, their ability to fly and all those characteristics that make them unique and incredible.
The following are some curious and interesting facts about these birds, which are small and great at the same time..
- There are about 330 species, whose average sizes range from between 6 and 12 centimeters in lengthand its weight is between 2.5 and 6.5 grams.
- The smallest hummingbird is the zunzuncito or elf of the bees (Mellisuga helenae), native to Cuba, which measures only 5 centimeters and weighs 1.6 to 2 grams.
- At the other extreme is the giant hummingbird (patagona gigas), which reaches up to 23 centimeters in length and between 18 and 24 grams in weight.
- Most hummingbird species display sexual dimorphism, that is, differences in the physical appearance of the sexes. Many females are usually larger than males.but these have a plumage of more varied and striking colors, since they are in charge of courting.
- The typical appearance of hummingbirds consists of a rounded body, where the pectoral muscles can represent up to 40% of their weight. They have a long and narrow beak, in addition to small legs with four toes each, which do not allow them to walk or hop on the ground as other birds dobut they can perch on the branches to rest and sleep.
- Their agile and fast wings allow them flap about 70 times per secondalthough they can do it up to 200 times per second.
- They are able to fly backwards, to the sides, and even upside down. They can also remain suspended in the air at a fixed point.. When they fly head-on, they do so at a speed of 45 to 54 kilometers per hour, although they can reach up to 70, and reach a height of around 4.5 kilometers.
- Some species of males perform some incredible flight displays to attract females, where they ascend to a certain height and then they plummet at speeds of up to 120 or 130 kilometers per hour. To give you an idea, the bird that has the highest speed is the peregrine falcon and it reaches up to 120 kilometers per hour and that is the speed that hummingbirds reach in a dive during this courtship ritual.
- Although they are small they have a big heartbecause it represents 2% to 5% of your total body mass (in humans, the heart is 0.4%). The hummingbird’s heart beats between 500 and 700 times per minute. when they are at rest, it drops to about 100 times while sleeping, and when it is active it reaches up to 1,200 times per minute.
- Because they are in constant motion and move at high speeds, their oxygen requirement is greater than that of any other type of vertebrate. They have 2 lungs and 9 air sacs, and while they fly they take about 500 breaths per minute.
- His brain It is bigger than that of any animal of its size, because it represents the 4.5% of your body weight (in the case of humans, the brain represents 2%). This suggests that they have larger brain capacities than would be expected in such a small animal.
- They have a prodigious memory can recognize a migration route from Alaska to Mexico and remember it. They can also remember the different flowers that they have detected and recognize where the plants with new flowers are, those that are going to flower and visit them as they produce their nectar.
- Hummingbirds are the only pollinating birds and they do this work while feeding on the nectar of the flowers. A hummingbird can drink the equivalent of its weight in nectar in one day.and in the seasons in which there is more food available, they can consume up to 3 or 5 times their weight.
- Despite their small size, they are long-lived animals. In their natural habitat there have been cases that They live to be 10 or 12 years old, and some more that reach 18.
- At night, the metabolism of hummingbirds becomes slow, so much so that they enter a state of lethargy and deep sleep.. His body temperature drops, his heart beats slower (around 100 beats per minute) and his kidneys stop working to prevent death from dehydration before that period of fasting.
Learn about the spiritual meaning of the hummingbird in this video:
With information from Humming Worlds and UNAM Global
Cover photo: Freepik