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Hummingbirds

 
Hummingbird is a family of birds that contains the smallest bird in the world. Hummingbirds live only in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in tropical regions. Scientists have identified more than 320 species. Hummingbirds get their name from the humming sound made by their wings, which move 60 to 70 times a second in the smallest species.

Size. The tiniest of the hummingbirds is the bee hummingbird, a native of Cuba. The bee hummingbird measures only about 2 inches (5 centimeters) long, including the bill. Another small hummingbird, the calliope hummingbird, inhabits western mountain regions of North America. It reaches about 3 inches (8 centimeters) in length. The ruby-throated hummingbird grows less than 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. It lives throughout much of eastern North America.

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Hummingbirds

Only a few hummingbirds grow more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) long. The largest is the giant hummingbird, a native of the Andes Mountains of South America. It is about 8 ¹/4 inches (21 centimeters) in length.

Appearance. Some members of the hummingbird family rank among the most brightly colored birds in the world. For example, the ruby throated hummingbird has a coat of metallic-green feathers on the upper parts of its body. The male of this species has a bright red throat, while the female's throat is white. Other hummingbird species possess glittering patches of emerald-green, deep violet, fiery red, and glowing orange feathers.

Habits. Hummingbirds fly quickly and can dart upward, downward, backward, or forward with remarkable speed. Their long, slender bills are especially suited for sucking nectar from flowers, even the deep-throated or trumpet-shaped flowers, such as the honeysuckle and trumpet flower. The long tongue of the hummingbird is also a useful tool for obtaining food from places difficult to reach. The end of the tongue is forked, and the edges of the two parts curl together to form a double trough through which the bird laps flower nectar into its mouth.

Insects form an important part of the hummingbird's diet. The bird often finds insects inside the flowers, or seizes them while it hovers. Sometimes it steals insects from spider webs. Certain hummingbirds use threads from spider webs to build their cottony nests.

Hummingbirds from temperate areas breed during the spring, while tropical species often breed in the rainy season. Males congregate and compete for females. Many female hummingbirds build nests high in the branches of trees. They construct these nests with various materials, including shreds of bark, soft grass, and bits of plant or cattail fluff. Typically, the birds camouflage the nests by covering the outside with such substances as lichens or bits of bark. The mother bird usually lays two tiny eggs. Her young hatch in about two weeks. The young have no feathers when born, and they cannot see. But within weeks, they are fully feathered and strong enough to leave the nest.

Hummingbirds make up the family Trochilidae. The ruby-throated hummingbird is Archilochus colubris. The giant hummingbird is Patagona gigas; the bee hummingbird, Calypte helenae; and the calliope, Stellula calliope.