Hummingbird

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Ranked #4,100 in Animals, #90,414 overall

Hummingbird

This lens was born out of a desire to bring together some nice pictures and information about one of my all time favorite birds, the tiny but mighty Hummingbird. You'll find some important info here about the world's smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) as well. Enjoy the ride (errr, I mean, the flight)!

Hummingbirds are Flying Gemstones

What kinds of hummingbirds exist world wide? Good question! There are 338 species of hummingbirds discovered so far (we can't be sure we have seen them all). Of these, 16 actually breed and live in the spring and summer in North America. The rest of the hummingbirds are found only in Central- and South America.

The 16 species of hummingbirds that nest, lay eggs, and live in North America are:

(1) Allen's; (2) Anna's; (3) Black-chinnned; (4) Blue-throated; (5) Broad-billed; (6) Broad-tailed; (7) Buff-bellied; (8) Calliope; (9) Costa's; (10) Green Violet-eared; (11) Lucifer; (12) Magnificent; (13) Ruby-throated; (14) Rufous; (15) Violet-crowned; and (16) White-eared.

A flash of color, a breeze, the sight of propeller like wings...before you had time to find out whether all this was your imagination playing with you, they are often gone. Sometimes, however, people get lucky as the videos below will show.

My first "real life" encounter with hummingbirds was in the Camel-back Inn in Phoenix, Arizona where I stayed during a seminar (the hotel is, unfortunately, sold in the meantime to developers, which was its inevitable fate, being a highly priced real estate with direct views at Camel-back Mountain). Along the poolside, they had orange trees that were in blossom when I visited. On my usual early morning walk leading through the park-like huge compound towards Orange Juice and a well-laid breakfast buffet, I paused at the cacti garden which was just a few steps away from the orange trees. Low and behold, I soon noticed that some huge "insects" are buzzing around the orange blossoms. My usual curiosity defeating my shyness around insects, I went closer. To my surprise, what I have discovered were not large green and coral pink and ruby red insects, but a rather large variety of little birds with an enormously long beak! All of a sudden it hit me, these can only be hummingbirds! I only knew them from books. They were adorable! Inserting their long beaks into the sweet scented orange flowers, they quickly picked up some nectar and flew back to their nest, probably to feed their chicks.

One of the most impressive memories of this encounter for me was, besides their beauty, their obvious curiosity. They were not at all afraid of me! Some flew close to the tip of my nose, and I could look them in the eye! They quickly discovered there was no nectars to get from this tall being, so they took off and soon forgot about me being there.

Why do Hummingbirds Migrate?

The hummingbird's instinct to migrate is driven by surging hormones, regulated by the length of daylight hours. Males may start migrating to the North as much as three weeks earlier in the springtime than females. Why, you are asking? Was there some trouble at home? Did the males need a break from their spouses? Scientists feel that the reason for this earlier trip of the males allows them to scout ahead for areas of food in unknown areas. The species can more easily survive the loss of a few males (sorry guys!) than the death of the same number of females. And the females, who will be nesting soon, will find larger flowers with more nectar to drink by leaving a little later.

Hummers are quite capable of covering astounding distances each trip back north. In fact, the ruby-throats fly non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico on their migration trips! And there's not one bit of evidence, despite the old folklore, that hummingbirds ride "piggyback" on the backs of geese.

Video About Hummingbird Babies

Made by netplaceus

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curated content from YouTube

How to Attract Hummingbords to Your Garden

Hummingbirds have been reported in 49 states in the U.S. (none in Hawaii) and in 10 provinces of Canada. To entice these birds to your home, start planning now for the arrival of hummers in your area.

Plants with red flowers attract hummers the most. Examples include:
bee balm salvia petunias
delphinium butterfly bush azaleas

If you wear a red shirt and hat, a hummer or two may check YOU out! Also be sure to provide lots of bushes and trees for the little ones to perch. It's estimated that they spend over 80% of their time sitting on twigs, leaves, and fences, resting and watching for trespassing rivals. Be sure not to use pesticides in your hummer garden. Most likely you will end up killing these little birds.

Hummingbirds fly with a speed of up to 60 miles per hour; yet they can stop in mid-air and just balance their, while looking at you curiously or sucking up some nectar. Hummingbirds love to bathe and can be seen frolicking in sprays of water, mist from a small waterfall, or water collected on leaves.

Like many birds, hummers have no sense of smell but find their food by sight. They will drink nectar from flowers, lick sap, and eat tiny insects such as gnats. And be sure to put out your hummingbird feeder with plenty of syrup! However, do not use honey nor red dye if you make your own sugar water.

Use a ratio of 4 parts boiling water to 1 part sugar. Cool before filling your feeder. Store any unused syrup in the refrigerator.

Bee Hummingbird

The smallest bird of the world: Bee Hummingbird

The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is a hummingbird, and the smallest of all birds (with the male being smaller than the female of the species). It can be found in Cuba (where it is called the zunzún) and the Isle of Pines. Its mass is approximately 1.8 grams, which is lighter than a penny, and it is about 5 cm (2 inches) long.
The male has the pileum and fiery red throat, the iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upperparts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. The female is green above, whitish below with white tips to the outer tail feathers. More apt to be mistaken for a bee than a bird because of the size, the bird is not a mimic.

Female bee hummingbirds are bluish green with a pale gray underside. The tips of their tailfeathers have white spots. Breeding males have a pink to red head, chin, and throat. Non-breeding males look like females, except that their wingtips have blue spots
The bee hummingbird is the world's smallest homeothermic vertebrate. When flying, its wings beat 80 times per second, up to 200 times per second during courtship displays. Its heart rate is the second fastest of all animals. Bee hummingbirds also have the fewest feathers of all birds. Their body temperature is 40 °C (104 °F), the highest of all birds. At night, their body temperature drops down 19 °C (66 °F) to save energy. Bee hummingbirds eat half their total body mass and drink 8 times their total body mass in water each day. The bee hummingbird can be found in woodland, shrubbery, and gardens in Cuba and the Isle of Pines. Its nest is only 3 cm across. The bee hummingbird's diet consists mainly of nectar and insects.

Speckled Hummingbird

Broad-tailed Hummingbird Selasphorus platycercus - About 4 inches in length. Found usually in mountain areas of central California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Mexico and as well as other parts of Rocky Mountain areas. Male birds have a shimmery green upperparts, long straight black bill, gray underparts, green sides, and rose colored gorget. Female birds have a green upperparts, buffy underparts, rufous sides and spotted throat.

Hummingbird Feeding from Human's Palm of Hand

Taped by russlouky

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curated content from YouTube

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Broad-billed Hummingbird Cynanthus latirostris - About 4 inches in length. Found usually in southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico and southwest Texas. Also found in Mexico. Male birds have a red bill with black tip, shimmery green upperparts, shimmery blue throat, dark green underparts, a forked bluish black tail and white undertail coverts. Female birds have greenish gray upperparts, gray throat area, and gray underparts with a square or slightly notched darkish tail with white tipped outer feathers.

How to Attract Hummingbirds?

Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Attracting Birds and Butterflies: How to Plant a Backyard Habitat to Attract Hummingbirds and Other Winged Wildlife (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides)

by: Barbara Ellis

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009)

How to Attract Hummingbirds & Butterflies

by: John V. Dennis, Nancy Arbuckle, Mathew Tekulsky

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009)

Links to Hummingbird Sites

Hummingbird: Everything you wanted to know about humming birds and custom crafted 3-D hummingbird figurine-unique gift to compliment your hummingbird garden, hummingbird feeders, and your humming bird pictures for your hummingbird loving friends and family
Napa County Master Gardeners Hummingbirds - Articles - Napa County Master Gardeners: Hummingbirds By David Alosi, U. C. Master Gardener Hummingbirds are always welcome visitors to the garden, and many plants encourage them. But as with butterflies, more and more habitat is being removed by human activity. By planting plants for hummingbirds, we can do
Glittering Garments of the Rainbow: A book about how to turn your backyard into a Hummingbird Haven.
Hummingbird Magazines Articles: Blue Belly Farm is an informative website for those who wish to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to their yard.
Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory - Hummingbird Watching: Information on finding and enjoying hummingbirds in southeastern Arizona.
Hummingbird Feeders Galore: Beautiful Hummingbird Feeders.
Hummingbirds - National Geographic Magazine: Marvels of micro-engineering, hummingbirds are the bird world's featherweight champions.