Hum-m-m-mingbirds: they may be tiny, but they're the world's trickiest stunt fliers

Ranger Rick, August, 1998 by April Pulley Sayre

Bzzzz, zoom ... dive, zzzzip! Aren't hummingbirds amazing? You hardly ever see one sitting still. Even when they're eating, their wings flap much faster than you can blink. And those dazzling feathers are awesome.

LITTLE SHOW-OFFS

The shiny feathers on a hummingbird are great for showing off. In the shade, these feathers look dark and dull. But in the sunlight, they sparkle and shine.

The male broad-billed hummingbird at right is flapping in the sunlight. Male hummers usually have more bright feathers than the females. When a male wants to impress a female, he shows off his shiny feathers as if to say, "Hey, what do you think of me, huh?"

FAST FLAPPERS

Hummingbirds move their wings in the shape of "figure eights." And they make as many as 60 figure eights a second. Moving their wings fast allows them to hover in mid-air. Hummers hover when they drink nectar from flowers, the way the coppery-headed emerald below is doing.

These tiny birds are amazing fliers. Often they fly so fast that it's hard to keep track of them. They can zip forward, stop suddenly, then quickly turn in the opposite direction. And they even fly backward. That's something no other bird can do!

A REAL HEART THROB

Flying, hovering, and mid-air diving are hard work. So hummingbirds have to have strong bodies--and big hearts for their size. The heart of a hummer in flight can beat up to 1200 times a minute. (Run as fast as you can and your heart will beat only about 200 times per minute.) A hummer's fastbeating heart pumps lots of blood to its wing muscles. The blood brings oxygen to help the bird's wings work quickly.

TERRIFIC TRAVELERS

Many hummers migrate to a nesting place in spring and to a warm place in fall. A rufous hummingbird may spend the summer in Alaska, and then fly as far as 2700 miles (4320 km) south to spend the winter in Mexico!

BRUSHY TONGUES

A hummingbird's tongue is long and forked, with fuzzy tips (see drawing above). The tips are great for lapping up the sweet nectar it finds inside flowers. The hummer also can snap up insects with its bill.

AMAZING BILL SHAPES

A hummingbird's long, slim bill is good for poking deep inside tube-shaped flowers. Birds with really long bills, such as this lucifer hummingbird (left), can reach inside really long flowers.

Some hummers have shorter bills. And a few kinds, such as the white-tipped sicklebill (bottom right), even have curved bills.

SEEING RED

Hummers feed from flowers of many colors, but they're especially attracted to red ones. And they often get fooled by other red things. They may zoom in on a red hat or shirt. And sometimes they even hover behind the red brake lights on the back of cars!

SAP SNATCHERS

Some hummers lap up tree sap, the way this rufous hummingbird is doing (left). But they can't drill tree holes, so how do they get the sap?

The hummers look for holes that sapsuckers (a kind of woodpecker) have made. After drilling the holes, the sapsuckers drink sap from them. When they leave, hummingbirds can hover next to the holes and lap the sap too.

LITTLE BIRDS, BIG EATERS

Don't challenge a hummingbird to an eating contest. Every day, it eats at least its body weight in nectar. If you weigh 60 pounds (27 kg), you'd have to drink 120 glasses of juice a day to keep up with a hummer! In one day, a hummingbird may visit more than 2000 flowers to get the nectar it needs.

FIXIN' THEIR FEATHERS

To fly like tricky helicopters, hummers have to keep their feathers clean. This one, called a green violet-ear (below), is washing its feathers in a pond. Hummingbirds take baths in other places too: garden sprinklers, waterfall sprays, and leaves covered with dew or rain.

ALL-AMERICAN BIRDS

Hummingbirds live only in North America, Central. America, South America, and nearby islands. They make their homes in many habitats, from deserts to forests and from valleys to mountaintops.

There are more than 320 species (kinds) of hummers, and 16 of those species nest in North America. The Western states have lots of different kinds. ,But if you live in the East, you're likely to see only one species: the ruby-throated hummingbird.

SQUEAKY SINGERS

Just a few species of hummingbirds sing. They sound like squeaky wheels, coins clicking together, or radio static. Their calls may not sound pretty to us. But these noises are probably music to hummingbird ears!

FIERCE FIGHTERS

Hummingbirds can be "teeny meanies." The two captive ruby-throated hummingbirds below are fighting over a perch. But in the wild, hummers usually fight over other things. They always seem to be saying, "Mine, mine, mine! Stay away from my food and my nesting place." Their bills and claws are their weapons.

BIGGEST AND SMALLEST

The giant hummingbird from South America is the world's largest. But even so, it's only about the size of a house sparrow. The smallest hummer is the tiniest bird in the world: the Cuban bee hummingbird (below). It weighs no more than two paper clips. Imagine what it would be like if one flew over and perched on your pencil.

TINY NESTS

Female hummingbirds make the smallest nests of any bird. Many of their nests have openings about the size of a golf ball cut in half. The hummer above, a straight-billed hermit, attached her nest to the tip of a long leaf.