Bird Tales

Hummingbirds

No other bird can fly as adroitly as a hummingbird. Their hovering abilities are unsurpassed, and they can even fly upside down and backward with agility. Hummingbirds defend their territory fiercely and can even chase away large hawks with power dives in excess of sixty miles per hour on wing beats up to 4,800 per minute.

Hummingbirds expend energy very quickly. They are always just a few hours away from starving to death. Consequently, hummingbirds eat often throughout the day and must consume at least twice their own body weight daily. In order to survive the night, hummingbirds usually lower their metabolism to a level below that of hibernation. It is called the the torpid state. A hummingbird's daytime body temperature of 104-106 degrees F can lower to about half that number during torpor on cool nights. When in flight, a hummingbird's heart beats around 1,200 times a minute. But at night the heart rate can drop as low as 35 beats per minute. There is no smaller warm blooded animal because the organs of these birds represent the extreme limit in miniaturization.

Hummingbird nests are usually constructed on a small twig (or wind chime, etc.), five feet or more above the ground. The small cup shaped nest is reinforced with hundreds of spider webs and lined with soft plant down or feathers. Often bits of plant material are attached to the exterior of the nest. The female builds the nest and rears the young alone. The male has the grueling task of chasing away the other males and mating with as many females as possible.

Baby hummingbirds are about the size of a honeybee when they hatch. The mother bird provides the hatchlings with a very nutritious diet which is high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. This diet is obtained from nectar and hundreds (if not thousands) of very small insects and spiders every day. The fast growing nestlings reach adult size and fly away in about 6 weeks.