Interesting facts about the unusual bird hummingbird bee. The bee hummingbird is the tiniest bird in the world Where hummingbirds live

The smallest bird on the planet is called the bee hummingbird. It belongs to the hummingbird family and is endemic to the island of Cuba. Also, this bird is found on the island of Youthud, which is located at a distance of 50 km south of Cuba. This unique baby does not live anywhere else. The habitat is limited to wooded areas and swamps of Salata (a peninsula in the western part of Cuba). The naturalist Juan Gundlach discovered and described this bird for the first time in 1844. However, the wider scientific community given description became known only after 6 years in 1850.

Description

The body length with tail and beak is 5-6 cm, weight is 1.6-1.9 g. This bird can easily be confused with a large bee. Outwardly, males and females are somewhat different, while males are smaller in size than females. Males have a bright red throat, the upper body is bluish, and the lower part is grayish white. The females are bluish-green above, while the chest and belly are pale gray. There are white spots on the tips of the tail feathers.

During the mating season, the heads of males acquire a reddish-pink color. Outwardly, the birds look round and stocky. In the sun, the plumage of these babies shimmers, and the bee hummingbird can be mistaken for a tiny jewel. The beak is thin, pointed and perfectly adapted for deep probing of flowers.

Reproduction and lifespan

These birds breed in March - June. After pairing, the female builds the nest. It takes her about 10 days to do this. building material are pieces of cobwebs, pieces of bark, lichen. The nest has a cup different shape with a diameter of not more than 2.5 cm and is located at a height of 3-5 meters from the ground on a thin tree branch.

In the clutch there are 2 eggs with sizes from 6 to 11 mm. Incubation period takes 3 weeks. Hatched chicks fledge on the 2nd week of life. They leave the nest and fledge at the age of 18-20 days. IN wild nature The bee hummingbird lives up to 7 years. In captivity, the maximum lifespan is 10 years.

Behavior and nutrition

These feathered babies are extremely fast and nimble. They make 90 wing beats per second. They feed mainly on the nectar of flowers, very rarely they eat small insects. Flying up to the flower, the baby hangs over it in the air and sucks out the nectar. It can feed at any height. But he collects a flower drink from only 15 species of plants. At the same time, 10 of them grow only in Cuba. During the day, a small bird visits up to 1.5 thousand flowers. When feeding, pollen from flowers falls on the beak and head. As a result of this, bee hummingbirds carry pollen and play important role in plant reproduction.

conservation status

The number of this species has decreased over the past decades. The reason is the reduction natural environment a habitat. Forests are cut down, and this negatively affects small beautiful birds. Previously, they lived throughout Cuba, but now they are forced to live only in separate, isolated areas. On this moment there is no program to preserve the unique population.

Everyone has probably seen a bee, or at least imagines what size it can be. Now imagine that there is also a ... bird of the same size! Yes yes, the weight is miniature bee hummingbirds(Mellisuga helenae) is only 1.6 grams, and the length of the body, together with the tail and beak, does not exceed 5 cm. During the flight, it makes more than 90 flaps of its wings per second, while its heart beats at a speed of 300 to 500 beats in a minute. This bird is the smallest of the representatives of birds known today on our planet.
The bee hummingbird lives exclusively on the territory of modern Cuba and the island of Youth. Compared to other members of the family, the described species looks round and stocky.
The male small bird has reddish-pink feathers on the head and throat, greenish-blue on the back, and gray-white on the chest.
The female is colored a little less brightly - greenish, with a slight admixture of blue, above, and pale gray below. In the rays of the sun, birds look like gems shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.

With such a small size, bee hummingbird feeds almost exclusively on nectar, and can visit up to 1,500 flowers per day. For these purposes, she has a thin long beak, which she plunges into the bud, and then licks the nectar with quick movements of her tongue.

A miniature nest (about 2.5 cm in diameter) is built by a female bee hummingbird from cobwebs, pieces of bark and lichens. Then she lays eggs, each of which is no larger than a pea. Incubation and rearing of offspring is also carried out exclusively by the female.

Read about other representatives of the animal world.

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, the differences between opposite sexes 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.

Due to such small size Cuban hummingbirds often confused with nocturnal hawk moths, since these butterflies are also able to hover in front of a flower when they eat 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.

The favorite tree liana of hummingbird bees has large flowers in which it is located a large number of sweet nourishing 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.

mating season in the bee hummingbird it 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.

Clutch contains 2 eggs white color 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 are clearing forests and draining swamps to grow coffee, tobacco and cocoa, leading to serious environmental issues.

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;

It is no secret that the hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world, its size is slightly larger than some insects, and sometimes a large one can even be larger than a small hummingbird. But the hummingbird is remarkable not only for its size, bright coloring feathers and a specific disposition makes them one of the most amazing and unique representatives 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 a hummingbird, which also shimmers under the sun's rays different colors, 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 quick 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 wet 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 useful feature by pollination of 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 cutting down rainforest South America led to the fact that 2 species of hummingbirds living in these forests 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 on the contrary, the most big representative family of hummingbirds, 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 most ancient known to science Hummingbirds about 30 million years old have been found in Germany, which indicates their wider range 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 finally, interesting documentary about our today's heroine - " secret life hummingbird."