#3 ~ Did you know that…

There are over 350 known hummingbird species, with new species being described every year – all of which live in the Americas.


Of the remaining hummingbird species, only eight regularly live in the United States – the vast majority live further south in the tropics.
The most well-known species in the US is the ruby-throated hummingbird.

The smallest hummingbird of all is the bee hummingbird, which is actually the smallest bird of any kind.
A male bee hummingbird is only a little over 5cm long and weighs less than 2g, not even half the weight of a nickel.


The sword-billed hummingbird has a beak that’s longer than its body!

Hummingbird nests are small. Smaller species nests are no bigger than half a walnut shell!

Hummingbird nests are architectural wonders made of lichen, moss and spider silk. (Lichens are composite plants consisting of a fungus that contains photosynthetic algal cells.)

Some hummingbird species flap their wings at between 50-80 beats per second. When they dive, they can flap their wings up to 200 times per second. Hummingbirds are the most maneuverable birds on earth. They’re the only ones that can fly backwards, and the only ones that can hover for long periods of time because of their ability to move their wings in a figure eight pattern.

A hummingbird’s heart rate can reach over 1200 beats per minute – more than 20 beats every single second!
Hummingbirds have extremely fast metabolisms, so they’re always hungry! They need to consume around half their own body weight every day, which is mostly made up of nectar, but also small insects and spiders.