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Amazing Facts about Hummingbirds
Zoe Ann Hinds
If you are like me, you like discovering interesting facts or bits of trivia with which to amaze or impress your friends. No matter what the subject, there is always interesting information to be found. You never know when the opportunity to bring up some little known fact or piece of trivia might present its self, so one must always be prepared with just the right piece of information. Since I have been researching, learning, and writing about hummingbirds I have discovered many amazing facts about these birds. This article will discuss some of them. It is my hope that reading these amazing facts will fuel your own imagination and cause you to want to discover more about these truly amazing birds for yourself.
Size
- The smallest hummingbird in the bee hummingbird which is found in Cuba. It is only 2 ¼ inches long.
- Of all bird species, hummingbirds have the largest known relative heart size. The heart represents 2.4 percent of their body weight.
- Hummingbirds lay the smallest eggs of any species of bird. Their egg is less than half an inch long; this is half the size of a jellybean!
Eating
- If the average man’s metabolism was comparable to that of a hummingbird, he would have to eat 285 pounds of hamburger every day in order to maintain his weight.
- Hummingbirds eat 5 to 8 times in an hour. Each feeding only last about 30 to 60 seconds in length.
- The average hummingbird will consume half its weight in sugar each day.
- An active hummingbird can starve to death in as little as two hours.
- 90 percent of the hummingbird’s diet is nectar.
- A hummingbird will visit between 1,000 and 2,000 blossoms each day.
Speed
- While at rest, a hummingbird takes 250 breaths per minute.
- The heart rate of a hummingbird is 1,260 times per minute.
- Hummingbirds travel at an average speed of 25 – 30 miles per hour.
- While active, a hummingbird breathes 300 – 500 times a minute.
- A hummingbird can dive at a speed of up to 60 miles per hour.
Flight
- Hummingbirds can fly forward, backward, and upside down. They fly backwards by spreading their tail and then doing a backwards somersault.
- The pectoral or flight muscles of a hummingbird accounts for ¼ of its total body weight. In humans, the pectoral muscles account for 5 percent of our total body weight.
- Though we generally see them in flight, hummingbirds perch for most of their lives.
Other Wonders
- Many people mistake hummingbird moths, or sphinx moths for hummingbirds at flowers. These are insects that fly in the daytime, and weigh 2.3 grams, more than some hummingbirds.
- Hummingbirds do not have a sense of smell, as far as is known. They use their eyesight to help them locate nectar sources and to get insects out of the air or off leaves.
- Most hummingbirds only live 3 to 5 years. Although, some have been known to live up to 12 years.
- The oldest historical mention of hummingbirds dates back to the Tiano Native Americans, around the time of Columbus.
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