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The smallest bird in the world (Hummingbird)

The very smallest bird on Earth, the Bee Hummingbird. Barely larger than thebee it's named after, almost everything aboutthis hummingbird is special. They can beat their tiny wings an incredible 80 times a second. Their tiny size makes them tasty prey for snakes, birds, even spiders. Nothing about the BeeHummingbird's life is easy. They may visit over athousand flowers a day on their eternal quest for nectar. The males are the showoffs of the family. Their dazzling head feathersusually irresistible to the less colorful females. But this lady's showing no interest. She has already mated. For her, it's nesting time. The whole nest issmaller than a golf ball. The mother will lay one or two eggs the size of coffee beans and then all she can do is wait. Three weeks must pass before she'll know if all is going to plan. Three weeks have passedsince the mother hummingbird laid her tiny eggs. (gentle Latin guitar music) It's a good year and twohealthy chicks have hatched. Blind and helpless at birththe chicks grow explosively, doubling their weight in just four days. Bee Hummingbirds are so scarce and their tiny nests so hard to find that this is a scene rarely,if ever, filmed before. 18 days after hatching the chicks have alreadygrown their flight feathers. In just a couple of days, they will leave the nest for good and, with luck, live up to seven years. A whole new chapter in the story of the world's smallest bird.

Ever heard the saying, “Good things comein small packages?” As the smallest birds in the world, hummingbirdsprove just that and more. Native to the Americas, the average hummingbirdweighs 5 grams - or just as heavy as a single sheet of paper. Despite their size, being a hummingbird isno small feat. As the smallest migratory birds, hummingbirdscan fly non-stop for 800km, stretching about 500 miles. Known for flying solo, they’re also oneof the only animals that can migrate without company. Aside from their remarkable flying skills,what else is there to know about the world’s tiniest birds? Watch on to find out. Hummingbirds regularly visit over 1,000 flowersper day. Hummingbirds consume nectar for the carbohydrates in its sugar, which is their primary source of energy. Since flower nectar is the best source ofsugar, the birds consume five to eight doses of it per hour. In one day, a hummingbird visits more than1,000 flowers to get their daily nectar fix. Hummingbird eggs are the size of jelly beans. Most female hummingbirds lay in clutches oftwo eggs, which they incubate for 15-18 days. Hummingbird nests are smaller than a dollar bill. Most hummingbird nests measure 1.5 inches in diameter, which is roughly the size of a golf ball. Hummingbird parents weave together twigs,plant fibers, and leaves, using spider silk to bind their nests together. Generally, hummingbirds make nests for every season. Hummingbirds don’t walk. Instead, it uses its tiny legs for perchingand lateral movements. Hummingbirds eat a lot of nectar. Typically, hummingbirds consume twice theirbody weight in nectar for one day. Hummingbirds have a decent lifespan. Depending on its species, hummingbirds canlive for 2-5 years. The birds are named for the sound they make. The quick flutter of a hummingbird’s wingsmake the titular “humming” sound they’re named for. Hummingbirds don’t have a sense of smell. However, they have good color vision due tothe dense concentration of cones in their retina. Hummingbirds have heightened color sensitivityfor reds and yellows, while muting cooler tones such as blue. Hummingbirds don’t mate for life. Instead, hummingbirds simply look for mateswhile in heat, and likely never see each other again after they copulate. Hummingbirds can recognize humans. Aside from recognizing flowers, they can tellwhich kind souls would refill their feeders for a nectar fix. In flight, hummingbirds have an average heartrate of 1200 bpm. Aside from its size, one of the hummingbird’s most distinctive traits is its crazy heartbeat. Its tiny heart pumps up to 1200 beats per minute when it’s flying around. At rest, its heart rate settles into 250 beats per minute. Compare that to the human average of only80-100 bpm, and you’ll see the difference. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward. Hummingbirds are the only ones known in nature to be capable of flying backward or upside down. The secret lies in their rotating wing muscles, which allows them a wider range of motion compared to other birds.

There are over 300 species of hummingbirds. A majority of these species are found in South America, while only 8 species can be found in North America. The broad-tailed hummingbird lives in mountainous regions. The broad-tailed hummingbird lives in the highland regions spanning western Canada and the U.S. to Guatemala and Mexico. It’s a medium-sized hummingbird known for its males’ rose-magenta-colored throats. The ruby-throated hummingbirds are a solitary species. During the summer, the ruby-throated hummingbird migrates to Northeast America, then leaving for Central America, Mexico, and Florida in the winter season. The ruby-throated hummingbird grows about3.5 inches long with a 3 to 4-inch wingspan. These birds are known as solitary hummingbirds with minimal social skills. The black-chinned hummingbird is one of the smallest species. Generally speaking, hummingbirds are already pretty tiny. However, the black-chinned hummingbird is known for being one of the smallest species. These little birds are known for their black, green, and purple colors. Black-chinned hummingbirds frequently perch on bare branches as they migrate along the west coast to Mexico. Rufous hummingbirds can fly over 3,000 km. Rufous hummingbirds may be small, but their flying skills are larger than life. These birds can fly over 3,200 kilometers during their migratory transits. Rufous hummingbirds mostly stay in the western half of the United States, depending on the season and migration period. The Calliope hummingbird is the smallest bird in the U.S. Aside from its bright magenta feathers, the calliope hummingbird is known as the smallest bird in the United States.

These birds are also widespread throughout Canada and Mexico. Anna's hummingbird has a long extendable tongue. This medium-sized hummingbird is known for its unique feeding habits. Anna’s hummingbird takes nectar from flowers with a long extendable tongue that stretches as long as its bill. These birds are omnivorous, consuming insects and arthropods as part of their diet. The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world. The bee hummingbird is not just the smallest hummingbird in its class, but it is also the smallest one in the world. The female bee hummingbird is much larger than the male with an average weight of 2.6 grams. The male bee hummingbird only weighs around1.95 grams. The bee hummingbird is named for its swift and robust flight, much like the actual insect. The biggest hummingbird is the Patagonia Gigas. Also known as the giant hummingbird, the PatagonaGigas towers over its species. It can weigh up to 24 grams and reach a wingspan of 8″. However, this comes at a price: the PatagonaGigas’ average flight speed is 15 wing beats per second, which is slow for a hummingbird. Hummingbirds can migrate at night or day. Generally, hummingbirds feed in the morning. However, at places with artificial light like porch lights, hummingbirds may hunt and eat during nighttime, especially during warmer seasons. When it comes to migration, hummingbirds can fly regardless of time. Hummingbirds enter a hibernation-like state. As soon as hummingbirds fall asleep, they go into a hibernation-like mode called torpor. This state allows the birds to have a deep sleep, which lets them slow down their metabolism to a fifteenth of its normal state. Their heart rate can drop around 50 beats per minute, slowing down their breathing. As a result, they can save up to 60% of their energy in this state. Some hummingbird species prefer not to migrate.

Some hummingbirds would stay in their place for unknown reasons and prefer not to migrate during the winter season. One theory suggests that due to its ability to hibernate, several hummingbirds can survive even without migration. For instance, some of Anna’s Hummingbird species stay on the northwest coast and some other parts of Canada all year long. Hummingbirds can look like a dead bird while in a torpor state. When hummingbirds go into a state of torpor, they hang themselves upside-down. To an observer, a sleeping hummingbird can look like a dead bird – even if someone touches them, it’s unlikely for them to wake up. On average, it takes around 20 minutes to 1 hour for a hummingbird to awaken from the torpor state. Hummingbirds will eat 25% of their daily intake after the torpor state. As soon as hummingbirds wake up from the torpor state, the first thing they will do is to look for food. They will binge over 25% of their daily consumption intake to restore energy and stack up nutrients. Hummingbirds are the world's smallest warm-blooded animals. Aside from the fact that hummingbirds are the world’s smallest warm-blooded animals, they don’t have the insulating feathers commonly found in birds. Instead, hummingbirds have a unique way of conserving energy to endure cold nights by reducing their internal thermostat at night. The rufous hummingbird is the longest migrating hummingbird species. These hummingbirds can fly close to 5,000kilometers from their nesting grounds in Canada and Alaska to their “winter home” in Mexico. Hummingbirds are also known as the "flying jewels". Most bird species have around 1,500-25,000feathers. However, hummingbirds have less than 1,000feathers. They are known as “the flying jewels” because they can change their feather colors in flight. Hummingbirds can recognize flowers they have already visited. Hummingbirds are some of the most intelligent birds. Their body mass has a large brain, weighing around 4.2% of the hummingbird’s total body weight.

Because of this, hummingbirds can tell apart fresh flowers from the ones they have already visited. They can also determine when a flower will refill its nectar. Hummingbirds may be tiny, but it’s always nice to learn that they have a little world of their own. This only reminds us of the small wonders of nature that we probably ignore in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to stop and take a look.

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