Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world. Although they are tiny, they make up for it with speed and excellent eye sight. Their vision is the equivalent of 8X binoculars which means they can spot a bird feeder from 3/4 mile away and their speed can go from 30 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour.
Some other facts about hummingbirds:
- Their nests are the size of an English walnut
- It takes almost 2 weeks for their eggs to hatch
- They usually have only two babies at a time
- The oldest baby stays around long enough for the youngest to fly away
- The female bird does all the work (not surprising): she builds the nest, lays the eggs, cares for the young
- Male birds mate with as many females as possible, but the female must choose him
- Their nests are made with thistle, down of dandelions, and spider webs
- The size of the eggs are the same size as a black eyed pea
- Their tongues are forked
- Their hearts beats at a rate of 250 beats a minute while resting and 1200 beats per minute while feeding
- They fly at 30 miles per hour at normal speed and 50 miles per hour when being pursued by a predator
- Their wings flap at 40-80 times a second
- Their body temperature is 105 – 108 degrees
- They weigh about 3.1 grams
- They are approximately 3.5 inches in length
- Ruby throated hummingbirds migrate across the entire gulf of Mexico two times a year for spring and fall (taking 18 hours to fly)
- They are solitary animals and do not fly in flocks
Very interesting animals to be so small. I only saw one last summer 🙁 Can’t wait to see if I can actually take pictures of them this summer.