Interesting facts about hummingbirds. A large insect similar to a hummingbird: description and photo Behavior and habitat
The bee hummingbird or Cuban hummingbird is a unique representative of the hummingbird order.
Many people know that hummingbirds are the smallest birds that are skillful flyers that are able to hover in place and fly to the side and even back. But not everyone knows that among these crumbs there are the smallest. And the smallest hummingbird is the bee hummingbird.
Description of the bee hummingbird
Male bee hummingbirds have very bright plumage during the breeding season, while females are traditionally dimmer in color. In addition, differences between opposite sexes are observed in size - males are much smaller than females.
From the tip of the beak to the tail, the size of the bee hummingbird is 5-6 centimeters, and the weight does not exceed 1.6-1.9 grams.
Because of their small size, Cuban hummingbirds are often confused with nocturnal hawk moths, as these moths are also able to hover in front of a flower when they are eating nectar.
Habitat for tiny hummingbirds
These smallest birds in the world live only in Cuba, they are endemic to these places, which is why they are called Cuban hummingbirds.
Bee hummingbirds prefer dense coastal forests, gardens, swamps and valleys, in which their favorite plant grows - large-flowered solandra.
A favorite tree liana of hummingbirds, bees have large flowers, which contain a large amount of sweet nutritious nectar.
The diet of hummingbird bees
These crumbs feed on the nectar of various fragrant flowers, shrubs, herbs and trees. On the day one individual collects nectar from an average of 1500 flowers. They prefer flowers with a high concentration of sucrose - at least 15-30%. That is why they love solandra most of all, which is also called the Cup of Wine or the Cup of Golden Wine.
Bee hummingbirds have a high metabolism, so they need a lot of food. These crumbs eat most of the day, and the daily serving volume is equal to half the body weight. They also have to drink a lot - the volume of drinking exceeds their body weight by 8 times. This is comparable to the fact that a person weighing 50 kilograms would need 400 liters of water daily.
But hummingbirds feed on more than just nectar. During the mating season, they eat small insects, as they need protein at this time.
Reproduction of Cuban hummingbirds
Hummingbirds lead a solitary lifestyle, and they form pairs only for a short time in order to continue the race.
The mating season for the bee hummingbird takes place at the end of the rainy season or falls at the beginning of the dry season, since many shrubs and trees bloom at this time.
Males gather in groups in special places and emit monotonous chirping and squeaking. With this singing they attract females. The female chooses a mate from the common choir. Couples in hummingbirds are fragile, and mature males can fertilize several females at once. Also, one female can have several partners.
The female builds a nest in the form of a bowl, for this she interweaves together blades of grass, moss, cobwebs, lichens and animal hair. Initially, the diameter of the nest is 2.5-3 centimeters, but since it is built from flexible materials, it can be almost doubled during the growth of the chicks. The nest is located on a tree branch, at a height of 1-6 meters from the ground.
The clutch contains 2 white eggs the size of a pea, their diameter does not exceed 6 millimeters. After about 16 days, the chicks hatch. They are motionless, blind and have no down.
The female protects her babies from danger and feeds them with regurgitated insects, since the nectar contains little protein and is not enough for the development of babies. The mother pushes food directly into the stomachs of the chicks with her long beak.
Breaks between feeding babies should not exceed 8 minutes, otherwise the chicks weaken and fall into a stupor, and then, in general, may die. After 18-38 days, hummingbird chicks fly out of the nest. They reach sexual maturity one year after birth.
Status of the bee hummingbird species
Currently, these crumbs are found only on the island of Cuba, but previously they were found on the neighboring islands of Santo Domingo, Jamaica and Haiti. They lead a sedentary lifestyle and make small foraging migrations only when necessary.
The bee hummingbird is endangered. In nature, birds of prey, mongooses, rats, fish, frogs and large spiders become enemies of these crumbs. But these predators cannot cause serious damage to the population. People cut down forests and drain swamps to grow coffee, tobacco and cocoa, which leads to serious environmental problems.
The main reason for the extinction of the hummingbird bee species is the destruction of their habitat. Interesting Cuban Hummingbird Facts
The bee hummingbird is not only the smallest bird, but also the smallest warm-blooded animal on the planet;
These birds have the least number of feathers compared to other birds;
Hovering in front of a flower, the bee hummingbird manages to make 90 flaps of its wings per second;
The bee hummingbird is the record holder for the frequency of heart beats. When the hummingbird is in a calm state, the heart makes 300 beats per minute, and when the bird is active - 500 beats per minute;
The specific name of this crumb is quite true. With an average length of five and a half centimeters and a weight of less than two grams, the male bee hummingbird really does not exceed the size of representatives of the largest species of bees. Megachile pluto with a maximum body length of 3.9 centimeters. This is an absolute world record: smaller birds simply do not exist on earth.
Endemic to Liberty Island
bee hummingbird ( Mellisuga helenae) comes from Cuba, where it was once ubiquitous. However, recently, due to the deforestation - the main habitat of its habitat - the range of the bird has become extremely uneven. Today, the bee hummingbird can be found mainly in Havana, in the Sierra de Anafe mountains, on the peninsulas of Guanaacabibes and Zapata, in the municipalities of Moa and Mayari in the province of Holguin, as well as on the coast of Guantanamo Bay. In addition, earlier the bird was also found on the island of Youthud adjacent to Cuba.
The bee hummingbird is a non-migratory species. However, there is evidence of her visits to the neighboring Bahamas and the Florida peninsula. At the same time, reports about it in Jamaica and Haiti are assessed by many experts as erroneous.
Short description
Despite their meager weight and size, bee hummingbirds, in contrast to their usually graceful relatives, look rather densely built strong men. Their appearance depends on the sex, and in males it also depends on the season.
Males of this species are smaller than females, and with an average length of 5.51 cm (including beak and tail), they weigh only 1.6 - 2 g. A 10-kopeck coin weighs about the same.
Females are slightly larger: their average length is 6.12 cm, and their weight is about 2.6 g. Thus, they “pull” almost 50 kopecks. The average wingspan is 3.25 cm.
Like all hummingbirds, "bees" are excellent flyers. According to some estimates, the speed at which they flap their wings is 80 beats per second. This is so much that individual movements become indistinguishable to the human eye.
The female bee hummingbird is slightly larger than the male and has white spots at the ends of the tail feathers.
The coloration of males and females outside the breeding season is quite similar. The exception is the spots at the ends of the tail feathers - black and white, respectively. The color of the back may also differ, which in the male “bee” usually has a more pronounced blue tint, while in the female it is more green. The breast of both those and others is gray.
For the breeding season, the male dresses up. Brilliant rose-red feathers appear on its head and chin, and a bright iridescent necklace elongated from the sides appears on its throat. Shortly after the end of this period, the front dress is discarded, and the male again assumes his usual appearance.
Did the job - fly away boldly
Hummingbirds are solitary birds. They do not gather in flocks, do not form permanent pairs, and outside the breeding season, each live on its own.
The breeding season usually begins at the end of the rainy season or the beginning of the dry season, i.e. March-April. It ends in June.
To attract females, males gather on a lek, where they try to impress them with their singing. Females can visit several leks a day, choosing the “performers” that they like the most. Both males and females can mate with several partners in one season.
The mating process is the only role that the male plays in the reproductive process. Immediately after it, he flies away and does not participate either in choosing a place for the nest, or in its construction. Raising offspring is also not included in the circle of his worries. All this is done exclusively by the female.
Male bee hummingbird during breeding season. On the branches of trees at a height of 1 - 6 meters, she builds a tiny (about 3 cm in diameter) nest of thin twigs and plant fibers. Outside, for masking, the nest is laid out with green moss, inside for comfort - with various fluff and wool. The whole structure is reinforced with cobwebs or other sticky substance, which allows the nest to expand twice as the chicks grow.
The clutch usually consists of two white pea-sized eggs (no more than 6 mm in diameter), which the female incubates for 14 to 16 days. The chicks hatch blind and completely naked and helpless. The mother feeds them by regurgitating the brought food, which she pushes with her beak through the throats of the chicks directly into their stomachs.
When the chicks reach the age of 18 - 38 days, they leave the nest and begin an independent life. Hummingbird bees become sexually mature at the age of about one year.
Gluttonous owners
The breeding season of the hummingbird-bee is timed to coincide with the flowering of many trees and shrubs, including its favorite food plant, solandra grandiflora ( Solandra grandiflora). Nectar is the main food of adult hummingbirds of this species, and in solandra it has the highest concentration of sugar (15 - 30%).
By the way, many Cuban endemic plants depend on bee hummingbirds for pollination. The evolution of their flower shape has paralleled the evolution of their beak shape, and they are now difficult to pollinate by other birds and insects. Such interdependence is a perfect example of co-evolution, the mutually beneficial adaptation of different species of living beings to each other.
To feed themselves, each bee hummingbird visits up to 1500 flowers of different plants per day, spending most of the day feeding. This Cuban baby has an extremely fast metabolism: every day she must eat a volume of food equal to half her body weight, and drink eight times more moisture than she weighs. Therefore, gluttonous bee hummingbirds (especially males) aggressively defend their feeding places, driving away both other individuals of their species and bumblebees and hawk moths that encroach on their feeding territory.
During feeding, the bee hummingbird hangs near the flower and laps the nectar with its long tongue at a speed of 13 times per second. In addition to nectar, various small insects also enter the diet of the hummingbird-bee. This type of food is especially important for chicks, since the nectar contains practically no protein necessary for their growth. Therefore, during the feeding period, the female has to catch up to 2 thousand insects daily.
natural habitat
The bee hummingbird inhabits mainly dense forests and forest edges, as well as mountain valleys, swamps and gardens. Prefers areas where the already mentioned large-flowered vine Solandra grows - her favorite source of nectar.
Unfortunately, at present, only 15-20% of Cuba's territory remains relatively untouched by man. As the forests covering the island are reduced to the needs of agriculture, the number of bee hummingbirds is also declining. And although the species is not threatened with extinction right now, such a threat may appear in the very near future. Therefore, the World Conservation Union has assigned the conservation status of the smallest bird of the planet as “a species close to a vulnerable position”.
River bent in an arc
At first glance at this sharp bend in the Colorado River in northern Arizona, USA, it becomes clear where its name comes from - the Horseshoe. With its almost perfectly symmetrical 270 degrees of turn, this river meander really looks like a horse's "shoes". The unusual shape, picturesque cliffs over 300 meters high and comparative accessibility have made the Horseshoe an extremely popular tourist attraction. Today, it is one of the most recognizable and frequently photographed natural landmarks in the Southwest United States of America.
How to bend an entire river into an arc
According to geologists, the Arizona Horseshoe arose about 5 million years ago, when, as a result of the tectonic uplift of the Colorado Plateau, the ancient Colorado River on the border of the future states of Arizona and Utah was forced to adapt to the new terrain. Following faults in local sandstone massifs, she gradually carved a whole canyon into them. Today it is known as the Glen, and the Horseshoe is its most intricately curved section.
The color of the rocks and water at the Horseshoe changes throughout the day. Some of the best shots are taken at sunset. In 1963, the canyon was almost completely flooded by the huge Powell Reservoir. It retained its original appearance only in the southernmost part, about 24 km long (where, in fact, the Horseshoe is located).
By the way, Glen is the northern neighbor of the famous Grand Canyon, which has a very similar geological history.
Easily accessible beauty
Horseshoe is one of those few phenomenally beautiful places that travelers with almost any physical ability can reach. It is located just 6.5 km southwest of the Arizona town of Page, from which the 89th highway leads to the bend. A dirt road turns from it between milestones No. 544 and No. 545, and then almost immediately there is a special parking lot and the beginning of a hiking trail. A short ascent to a small pavilion on a hill, then a gentle descent - and a mighty bend of the Horseshoe opens before your eyes.
In general, a walk there and back, a distance of about a couple of kilometers, takes about 45 minutes.
You can go to the Horseshoe all year round, permits and separate tickets to visit it are not required. You will only have to pay for access to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on whose territory the Horseshoe is located. Access costs $25 from a private car and is valid for up to seven days.
In the National Recreation Area, it is forbidden to litter, as well as to disturb wildlife in any way and leave inscriptions. You can walk dogs on a short leash (no longer than 1.8 m).
Going to the Horseshoe, it is recommended to take plenty of water with you (at least 1 liter per person), as well as sunglasses and a hat, because there is no shade on the path except for the gazebo halfway. For those who are fond of photography, a wide-angle lens is mandatory - without it, the scale of the Horseshoe simply cannot be covered. Of course, you should be careful on the observation deck - there are no railings and fences on it.
The height above sea level at the observation deck of the Horseshoe is 1285 m. The height above the Colorado River is just over 300 m. There are no fences, so you need to be careful. In July 2010, a Greek tourist fell and died here. In terms of the beauty of the scenery, the best time to visit the Horseshoe is from about 9:30 am (when the river gets rid of its thick shadow) until noon. At noon itself, due to the lack of shadows, the view of the famous bend will be somewhat flat. Evening until sunset, inclusive, is also a good option, but in this case the sun will shine in the eyes.
In relative proximity to the Horseshoe, there are several other first-class attractions at once. So, directly north of Page is the imposing wall of the Glen Canyon Dam, 220 meters high, beyond which the Powell Reservoir begins. 45 km west of the Horseshoe lies the famous Arizona Wave - a sandstone rock formation of absolutely incredible beauty. And 12 km in the opposite direction (that is, to the east) is the equally famous Antelope Canyon.
And finally, southwest of the bend downstream of the Colorado River begins the Grand Canyon - one of the most unusual and impressive geological features of the globe.
Remarkable freshman
At the top of one of the taiga-covered mountain ranges of the Gremyachinsky district of the Perm Territory, there is a powerful rock mass cut up by deep cracks. Crossing it crosswise, large and not very clefts form a bizarre labyrinth, reminiscent of the streets, alleys and squares of some long abandoned settlement. This is the so-called Stone Town, one of the most popular tourist destinations of the modern Prikamye.
Three names for one place
Today Stone Town is widely known not only to Permians, but also to many guests of the region. Here, despite the remoteness, a constant flow of travelers stretches all year round. However, this was not always the case: a couple of decades ago, only a few local residents knew about Stone Town, and even then under completely different names.
Cracks in the rock mass of the Stone Town form a network of large and small "streets". The fact is that modern tourists have already called this place Stone Town, and earlier for half a century it was called "Turtles". This name was given to it in the middle of the 20th century due to the characteristic shape of the two highest remnant rocks by residents of the neighboring mining villages of Shumikhinsky and Yubileiny, founded in 1953 and 1957, respectively. However, this name was not original either: the old-timers of the most “age” settlement of these places - the village of Usva - have long known these rocky outcrops as the Devil's Settlement.
Such a name is not uncommon for the Ural toponymy. Not far from Yekaterinburg, for example, there is a spectacular mountain of the same name, very popular with tourists and rock climbers. In addition, objects with a similar name are also found in other regions of Russia, since rocky massifs and unusually shaped stone ridges were usually called devilish settlements. Obviously, people, not knowing the true geological reasons, attributed their construction to evil spirits.
History of appearance
How did the Permian Stone Town actually arise?
Scientists have established that 350 - 300 million years ago there was a large river delta in this place. Its mighty streams brought with them large masses of sand, which eventually turned into powerful sandstone deposits. Later, as a result of the movement of tectonic plates that caused the formation of the Ural Mountains, the territory of the future Stone Town was raised high above sea level and began to be weathered.
Quartz sandstone of the Stone Town. The brown color is due to the admixture of iron hydroxides. Over long millions of years, water, wind, temperature changes and chemical processes have deepened and expanded the cracks in the rock that appeared during the tectonic uplift. This led to the emergence of the current "streets" and "lanes", which at the moment can be up to eight meters wide and twelve meters deep. In other words, from a scientific point of view, the Permian Stone City is an accumulation of weathering remnants composed of fine-grained quartz sandstones.
Road to Stone Town
Given today's great popularity of the Stone Town, it is hard to believe that it is not even mentioned in the old guidebooks around the Kama region. Nevertheless, this is true - the rush demand for the Gremyachinsky remnants appeared among Perm travel enthusiasts only in the last one and a half to two decades, and before that, due to poor transport accessibility, they were practically unknown to the mass tourist.
Fortunately, the situation has changed since then, and today Stone Town can be easily reached by car. The general route is as follows: first, the road to Usva (188 kilometers from Perm, 383 from Yekaterinburg), then about two more kilometers along the highway towards Kizel. Then turn right to the villages of Shumikhinsky and Yubileiny and five kilometers along the forest dirt road to the car park. Further, turning left from the road, about a kilometer and a half march along a well-marked path and among the trees the first remnants of the Stone Town will begin to be seen.
At the top of the Rudyansky spoy
Since the Stone Town is located near the main peak of the Rudyansky spoy mountain range (526 meters above sea level), the path from the dirt road to the remains goes up a small slope. The ridge begins on the outskirts of the village of Usva and stretches 19 kilometers north to the city of Gubakha. It was named Rudyansky because of the Rudyanka river flowing in its southern part, in the basin of which iron ore was mined at the beginning of the 19th century. Spoils in the Perm Territory used to be called forest-covered long mountain ranges without pronounced peaks.
The rocky outlier Turtle is the main symbol of the Permian Stone Town. The stone city (not counting the numerous single stones scattered around it) is divided into two unequal parts. The first rock outcrops that tourists go to belong to the so-called Big City. It is in it that the two largest local remnants rise - the Big and Small Turtles, because of which the Devil's Settlement changed its name in the 1950s.
The smaller of these remnants, due to its similarity in shape to a perched bird, is today better known to tourists as the Feathered Guardian. The larger one, accordingly, is now more commonly referred to simply as the Turtle. Between him and the Feathered Guard there is a vast and almost horizontal platform - the so-called Square. Tourists get to it along the Prospekt - the widest (up to four meters) and the longest crack in the Stone Town. The almost sheer walls of the Prospect in places reach eight meters in height.
The feathered guard, as well as the Turtle seen behind it, often becomes the object of annual rock climbing competitions held in Stone Town between rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, mountain tourists and speleologists of the Perm Territory. To the right and to the left of the Prospect narrow cracks-streets depart. One of them (the one that goes around the Turtle) has the highest - up to 12 meters - walls in the city. On the other two, you can climb above the rock massif and from there, in all its glory, you can see both the Stone Guard and the Turtle in front of you.
About 150 meters north of the Bolshoy is the Small Town. Despite a much smaller area compared to its neighbor, it is also very interesting and picturesque. Its main "street", for example, is even more spectacular than the Prospect described above. In addition, there is a curious stone ridge with a through hole in the base. The only problem is that there is no clear path to the Small Town, and it is not always easy to find.
You can come to Stone Town at any time of the year, but it is especially beautiful here on sunny autumn days. At this time, you can wander endlessly through its streets immersed in bright colors. That is why at the end of August and at the beginning of autumn in the Stone Town there is the largest influx of visitors.
However, many tourists come here in winter, when both the remnants themselves and the trees growing right on them are effectively covered with snow-white caps of snowdrifts. Therefore, going to the Stone Town in the winter months, you should not be afraid that the local paths will be impassable due to deep snow. They will certainly be well trodden by groups of previous visitors.
Stone Town is located immediately to the west of the main peak of the Rudyansky spoy ridge. From here, unforgettable views of the boundless ocean of the Ural taiga open up. Before visiting the Stone Town, you need to stock up on water, as there are no large water sources in it. Also, since since 2008 this landscape natural monument of regional significance has received the status of a specially protected natural area, certain rules of conduct should be followed.
Firstly, it is possible to make fires in the Stone Town only in specially equipped places, using only dead wood and deadwood for this (it is forbidden to cut down living trees and shrubs). Secondly, you can not litter and leave unextinguished fires behind. Thirdly, it is forbidden to disturb animals and make inscriptions on rocks, stones and trees. Violation of these rules threatens with a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles.
Stone Town is not the only natural attraction in the vicinity of Usva village. Not far from it is, for example, such a "flagship" of the tourism industry in the Perm Territory as the Usva Pillars - a huge and extremely photogenic stone ridge with a picturesque remnant of the Devil's Finger. Rafting on the Usva River is also very popular among Permians.
In general, the remnants of weathering, similar to the Stone City, associated with the selective destruction of mountain ranges, are one of the most spectacular geomorphological objects of the Kama region. There are especially many of them on the flat peaks of the Northern Urals, such as the Chuvalsky stone, Kuryksar, Larch ridges and on the Kvarkush plateau.
Hummingbirds are amazing birds that live in the tropical zone of America. More than 330 species are known.
The smallest is the Cuban bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae). She is also the smallest bird in the world and the smallest warm-blooded animal on Earth. The male is only 5 cm long from beak to tail, weight 1.6-1.9 grams, i.e. about the same as two paper clips. The females are slightly larger, but they appear tiny compared to some beetles and butterflies, i.e. the size of a bee.
The bee hummingbird is a very strong and fast creature. She flaps her wings at a speed of 80 times per second. The shiny and iridescent feathers of the bee hummingbird make it look like a tiny gem. However, its multi-colored color can not always be seen, it depends on the angle at which a person looks at the bird.
During one day, a hummingbird-bee manages to visit about 1500 flowers!
Interestingly, bee hummingbirds build cup-shaped nests that do not exceed 2.5 cm in diameter. They are made from cobwebs, bark and lichens. And in this nest, the hummingbird lays two pea-sized eggs.
The largest representative, the gigantic hummingbird, whose habitat covers some areas of the western part of South America, can reach 19-22 cm in length and weigh 18-20 grams.
Most of all, hummingbirds can be found in those places where large bright flowers of the tropics grow. These birds never land on the ground: during the day they fly tirelessly, and at night they sleep, while hanging upside down on the branches.
Small, energetic and lightning fast, the hummingbird is one of the most amazing creatures on earth. The hummingbird got its name from its ability to quickly flap its wings. Small species in their normal state make 50-80 strokes per second and up to 200 strokes if the male is caring for the female (from the English ‘humming-bird’ - a buzzing bird). The strikingly fast beats of a hummingbird's wing create an audible, characteristic "muffled buzz." Very often, hummingbirds are called natural helicopters, and this is due to the fact that they are able to perform all the maneuvers that a helicopter performs: they can hover motionless in the air, take off and land vertically, and also fly in the opposite direction.
Hummingbirds can perform incredible tricks in the air. In order to collect nectar from flowers, her main food, she must have special skills. A hummingbird can fly close to a flower to penetrate it, hover motionless in the air until it collects enough nectar, and then fly back from the flower to pull its beak out of it. To carry out all this, the hummingbird needs special properties that can provide this bird with this type of flight.
The hummingbird's wing has a unique structure in which the upper elytra and forewings are small and stiff. The wings are composed almost entirely of feathers and muscles. The movement of the hummingbird's wing is closely related to its structure. Thanks to its ability to change the angle of the wing, it performs amazing movements that are beyond the power of any other bird. And so the flight of a hummingbird is different from the flight of any other bird. Most birds flap their wings up and down, but the hummingbird does not flap its wings up and down, but back and forth, which allows it to generate lift in both forward and backward flapping.
Many people think that hummingbirds feed exclusively on flower nectar, but in fact, the basis of the diet of most species is small arthropods, which they find in flowers or on the surface of leaves. Occasionally, birds manage to catch an insect flying or stuck in a web. In a day, a hummingbird can fly up to 2 thousand flowers. In 16 hours, they are able to drink up to 120 times more liquid (nectar) and eat twice as much food as their body weight.
Hummingbirds are very active birds, they live alone, constantly flying in search of food. They have a very fast metabolism and a night for them is equivalent to dozens of days of life for a person. They cannot afford to spend such a long period of time without food, therefore, with the advent of night, when the air cools, they fall into a stupor, in which the metabolism slows down significantly. During such "hibernation" all life support processes are slowed down, and the body temperature of birds drops sharply from 42°C to 17-21°C. As soon as the first rays of the sun hit the body of a hummingbird, it immediately warms up and comes to life.
Hummingbirds never land on the ground because they their legs are small and weak, absolutely unsuitable for walking.
This little bird's heart makes up approximately four percent of its total body weight. At rest, the heart of a hummingbird usually beats at a frequency of 500 beats per minute, and during physical activity (flight) 1200 beats per minute
In all species of the hummingbird family, the shape of the tail and beak varies greatly. Their thin beak can be long, pointed-short or arcuately curved. The tail is usually short, cut, sometimes long, forked. The wings of miniature birds are sharp and long.
The plumage of a hummingbird is small, characterized by incredibly bright colors and iridescent brilliance. In different sexes, feathers can vary greatly in shape and color. For example, females are more dull than males. In addition, the representatives of the stronger sex are characterized by bizarre shapes of head and tail feathers. Another interesting feature of the plumage of these birds is the ability to refract incident light in different ways. For this reason, the shades of some parts of the body can change depending on the point of observation - as soon as the hummingbird turns in the other direction, the unremarkable greenish color begins to glow with purple fire.
Tropical species of hummingbirds breed all year round, while northern species breed only in summer. The care of males for procreation is limited to mating and protection of the nesting territory, and the female is engaged in building a nest, incubating eggs and raising offspring. Most species make their nests in bushes, trees, some attach them to leaves and rocks with the help of saliva. The finest blades of grass, plant fibers, moss, lichens, cobwebs and wool are used as building materials. Birds hang their nest from the ends of leaves or thin branches, bravely and fearlessly protecting it, rushing even at larger birds.
Female hummingbirds most often lay two tiny white eggs that incubate for 14-20 days. Chicks are born naked, weak and helpless. The hatched babies are fed by the female with flower nectar, which she brings in her beak. They need to be fed very often, because from hunger they can become stupor and weaken to such an extent that they cannot even open their beak. Returning to the nest, the parent hummingbird literally forcibly feeds the chick, after which it instantly “comes to life”. Thanks to such nutrition, babies develop very rapidly and leave their native nest within 20-25 days after birth.
The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world, found only in Cuba and nearby individual islands. This type of animal is so unusual that it amazes with all its properties.
Hummingbird bee - the smallest bird
Features of the bee hummingbird
Outwardly, the hummingbird bee differs from all possible birds. Its body measurements are about five centimeters, so they look more like an insect than a bird. The physique is ordinary, the paws are small in size. The hummingbird is a bee twenty hours a day in the air, so they do not need strong and strong paws. The male is significantly inferior to the female in size, and like many species of birds, they are endowed with a bright color that distinguishes them from each other only during the courtship period and a little after its completion. The color of the male is dominated by:
- the back is green-blue;
- collar - red;
- feathers on the sides are longer and shiny;
- the tail is short and round;
- after the completion of the breeding season, only the edging on the tail and the size of the body remain of the distinguishing features.
The courtship period of a hummingbird bee is no less interesting. A group of males, which can be as many partners as you like, arranges a vocal competition and sings for their chosen one. Among the many gentlemen, the female chooses a partner. In one season, the male can fertilize many females, but she also comes into contact with several partners. The most popular will be a male with a beautiful color and excellent trills.
Facts about hummingbirds indicate that the species lives in captivity for about ten years. While in the wild they live an average of seven years. This is due to the fact that the hummingbird bee is a very small and easily accessible prey. According to scientists, the bee hummingbird is the smallest mammal.
Hummingbird bee stays in the air twenty hours a day
breeding season
When the rainy season ends in their native area, the bee hummingbird begins its breeding season. Hummingbird bees live apart, but only at the time of reproduction pair up. When fertilization is completed, the female builds a nest and incubates the eggs on her own.
The mating process is carried out both on a branch and in the air.
Hummingbird bees do not live in groups or flocks, they all live apart. Such an individual trait of the species, they do not even unite in pairs.
Reaching the age of three weeks, the cubs become independent and go into adulthood. Reaching the age of one year, the reproductive period begins.
The individual features of the species are that they are:
- They make a buzzing sound, hence their name.
- They fly at speeds up to fifty kilometers per hour, flapping their wings up to two hundred times per second as much as possible.
- Their flight is not visible, a person can see how something fuzzy moves in space.
- During the day they pollinate up to one and a half thousand flowers, which is connected with their ecological importance.
- They feed on pollen, eat a lot, several times their weight.
- The body temperature is up to forty degrees, but in the evening it decreases.
- This is the most unusual bird, with data incomparable with more than one species on Earth.
It is no secret that the hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world, its size is slightly larger than some insects, and sometimes some big one can even be larger than a small hummingbird. But the hummingbird is not only remarkable for its size, the bright color of the feathers and the specific temperament make them one of the most amazing and unique representatives of the animal world of our planet.
Hummingbird: description, structure, characteristics. What does a hummingbird look like?
The size of a hummingbird does not exceed 5 cm, the weight of a hummingbird averages 1.6-1.8 grams. But among the hummingbirds there are also larger representatives, the so-called "giant hummingbird", whose dimensions are truly gigantic compared to their small relatives, the weight of a gigantic hummingbird can reach up to 20 grams, with a body length of as much as 21-22 cm.
It looks like a gigantic hummingbird.
The bright plumage of hummingbirds, which also shimmers in different colors under the sun's rays, is the subject of their little pride, and, interestingly, male hummingbirds are colored brighter than females. Some hummingbirds have tufts or a little coloration on their heads. The tail of a hummingbird, depending on its species, may have a different shape, but, as a rule, it consists of ten feathers, which also have a bright color.
The beak of a hummingbird is thin, long, the upper part of the beak wraps around the bottom. Hummingbirds also have a forked tongue. The wings of a hummingbird have a sharp shape, each wing has 9-10 primary feathers and 6 short small ones, which are completely hidden under cover feathers. The paws of a hummingbird are small, weak, and also with long claws, as a result, they are practically not suitable for walking, which is why hummingbirds spend most of their time in the air.
Of the more than 350 species of hummingbirds, only a few have the ability to sing, while the hummingbird's voice is like a faint chirp.
How many strokes per second does a hummingbird make?
In addition to their bright plumage and small size, hummingbirds have something else to surprise us with - the speed with which these birds flap their wings is truly fantastic. In a short time during which a person only has time to blink, a hummingbird makes dozens of flapping wings. So, how many wing beats per second does a hummingbird make? Small hummingbirds make 80-100 strokes per second, large hummingbirds are not so agile and make only 8-10 strokes per second. Thanks to such a fast flapping of the wings, these birds can literally hang in the air above some flower, extracting nectar from it with their long beaks.
The flight of a hummingbird is somewhat similar in its properties to flight, and interestingly, hummingbirds are the only birds among birds that can fly in the opposite direction. The flight speed of a hummingbird can reach 80 km per hour. True, such fast flights are not easy for them, since they consume a large amount of energy, for example, the heart of a bird during a fast flight accelerates to 1200 beats per minute, while at rest it makes only 500 beats per minute.
How long do hummingbirds live
The maximum life span of these smallest birds averages 8-9 years.
Where do hummingbirds live
Hummingbirds live exclusively on the American continent, and in both South and North America, wherever there are flowers. The way of life of hummingbirds is mainly sedentary, preferring to settle in mountain meadows and humid equatorial forests. Some species of these birds, such as the ruby-throated hummingbird, are resistant to cold climates, and live, for example, in Canada.
What does a hummingbird eat
One of the additional nicknames that these birds have is “feathered”, which perfectly characterizes what they eat. Like bees, hummingbirds feed on flower nectar and, like bees again, perform a useful function in pollinating flowers.
But hummingbirds are not limited to flower nectar alone, being omnivorous creatures, they also prey on various small insects, which they catch right on the fly. It should be noted that hummingbirds are incredibly voracious (both for their small size, of course), so the total weight of food consumed per day can even exceed the hummingbird's own weight by 1.5 times. It is also interesting that during the reception of nectar, the tongue of a hummingbird descends into the neck of a flower at a speed of 20 times per second.
Hummingbird Enemies
Hummingbirds also have their enemies, who are not averse to feasting on these bright birds - these are various larger feathered predators, snakes and bird spiders. But it is also very difficult for them to catch a hummingbird with incredible speeds. In addition, hummingbirds are very brave and can sometimes bravely fight back or even attack larger birds.
But the main and most dangerous enemy of the hummingbird, like other representatives of the animal world, is, of course, man. So the deforestation of the tropical forests of South America has led to the fact that 2 species of hummingbirds living in these forests have disappeared completely, and 46 species are now listed in. Although some of the hummingbirds have adapted to the neighborhood with humans, and even feel quite good in city parks and flower beds.
Types of hummingbirds, photos and names
As we wrote above, zoologists have more than 350 species of hummingbirds and it makes no sense to describe them all.
This is the smallest representative of the hummingbird, and indeed of all birds on Earth. The bee hummingbird is 7 cm in size and is found in Cuba.
And this is the opposite, the largest representative of the hummingbird family, its body length is 21-22 cm and weighs 18-20 grams.
Hummingbird breeding
The hummingbird nest where they lay their eggs is as small as its hosts, about the size of a small cup. These hummingbirds create nests from cobwebs, fluff, blades of grass, pieces of bark.
Usually, for one laying, a hummingbird lays 2 eggs with a diameter of 10 mm. The female hummingbird is engaged in hatching eggs for 14-19 days, then for several months after the birth of the chicks, she feeds them until they become ready for independent life.
- According to the beliefs of the American Indian Aztecs, hummingbirds are the reincarnation of the souls of dead warriors.
- The oldest hummingbirds known to science, about 30 million years old, were found in Germany, which indicates their wider habitat in antiquity. Subsequently, hummingbirds did not survive in Europe due to various reasons.
- Hummingbirds are present on the coat of arms of such Latin American countries as Trinidad and Tobago.
Hummingbird video
And in conclusion, an interesting documentary about our today's heroine - "the secret life of a hummingbird."