It's just amazing - how diverse and inventive nature is. One notable example of this is the hummingbird family of about 320 species. This bright, mobile bird lives in the Americas from southern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Hummingbirds fully deserve the epithets "the most" and "the only". For example, the sword-billed hummingbird is recognized as the longest-billed bird, and the bee hummingbird is the smallest bird on Earth, the only feathered creature that can hover in the air and fly forward with its back.
The most amazing among birds
Probably everyone has heard that the hummingbird is the smallest among birds. True, this point requires clarification. Not all hummingbird species are so small. For example, a giant or gigantic hummingbird - there is also such a species - the size of an ordinary swallow. But the hummingbird - a dwarf bee really has a very miniature size - from 5 to 6 cm with a tail and beak. The bird weighs only 1, 6 g. It is the smallest warm-blooded creature on Earth.
The hummingbird is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. It is not for nothing that they are compared to precious stones. Males have a very bright plumage with a metallic sheen, the color of which changes when the angle of incidence of light changes. Females are colored somewhat more modestly. The bird feeds on flower nectar and small insects, which it collects from flowers and leaves or catches right on the fly.
Hummingbirds are very mobile. The process of life requires a huge expenditure of energy from them, so they eat often. The volume of food consumed by the bird per day is approximately half of its body weight, and it drinks 8 times its weight. A hummingbird flies around up to one and a half thousand flowers per day. The bird absorbs flower nectar, hovering over the flower's calyx. The favorite flower plant of these birds is Solandra large-flowered.
The body structure of a baby hummingbird is consistent with the intensity of her life. Her heart takes up almost half of the internal body cavity, and her heart rate can reach 1000 beats per minute. Hummingbird body temperature 40 ° C - again a record - the highest among birds. "Bee" has an interesting feature: at night, when it gets cooler, her life processes slow down. The bird falls into a daze, while its body temperature drops to 19 ° C. This allows her body to reduce energy consumption for heating the body.
Hummingbirds do not form strong married couples. One female builds a nest, incubates and feeds chicks. Males guard the territory. In the clutch of a hummingbird, there are only 2 eggs, the size of a pea. Incubation of offspring takes from 14 to 20 days. Feeding requires tremendous dedication from the female - she must bring food every 8 minutes. Even a slight delay leads to the fact that the chicks are weak to the point that they are unable to open their mouths. In this case, feeding is compulsory. The bird "shoves" food into the chick's mouth. After 3 weeks, young "bees" leave the nest.
How the hummingbird flies
Despite its tiny size, hummingbirds can reach speeds of up to 80 km / h in flight. But she does not fly like other birds. The hummingbird can fly both head and tail forward, hover in place, take off and descend almost vertically. The baby owes such wonderful flight qualities to her strong and flexible wings that can change the angle of the flap. In other words, the wings of a hummingbird can move up and down, back and forth, and when hovering, they describe a figure eight, which allows it to maintain balance in the air. In flight, the bird makes up to 90 strokes per second.
