Fascinating Hummingbird Facts (2024)

Learn some fun facts about hummingbirds—how much these tiny birds weigh, whether they can really see red, and what types you’ll see where you live. Did you know that hummers do not flap their wings? Enjoy these fascinating hummingbirdfacts!

The TinyHummingbird

These diminutive birds weighonly about 4 grams—or .141 ounces!That’s tiny! For comparison, a U.S. penny weighs 2.5 grams. The egg of a hummingbird weighs just 0.4 gramsto 2.4 grams. A newly hatched bird is just 0.62 grams. However, when it’s time to migrate, hummers pack on the grams for the long trip—sometimes doubling theirweight.

They are among the smallest birds, too, with most species measuring 3 to 5 inches long. The smallest bird, the bee hummingbird, is only 2 inches long—and weighs less than 2grams.

How Fast Do Hummingbirds Beat TheirWings?

With their iridescent colors and relatively short wings, Hummingbirds beat their wings as fast as80 times per second! They do NOT flap their wings—they rotate them in a figure 8, which makes it even more remarkable! In fact, their name comes from the fact that they movetheir wings so fast that they make a humming noise. Hummingbirds can hover, stop instantly, and fly in different directions (even upside down) with exquisitecontrol.

Where Do HummingbirdsLive?

Hummingbirds evolved in the equatorial tropics. In the spring, 21 species fly thousands of miles northward from Mexico, Costa Rica, and other southern places to visit the United States and Canada. In the fall, they return to theirsouthernhomes.

The greatest number and variety of hummingbirds in North America can be found in western areas of the United States and as far north asAlaska. Only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is found east of the Mississippi. The birds also visit southern Canada, especially British Columbia, Alberta, andNovaScotia.

How Far Do HummingbirdsMigrate?

Many of these birds make round-trip migration flights of more than 1,600 kilometers (995 miles)! Although hummingbirds usually weigh less than an ounce, these tiny birds have a lot of energy. When the wind blows in the direction they are flying, they can travel up to50mph.

Some fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico in spring and autumn. Cornell University scientists report that they double their body weight with nectar and insects in preparation for such flights. They burn all additional weight when crossing the Gulf of Mexico. They consume ten times per gram of muscle tissue than most elite human athletes, marathoners, and cross-countryskiers.

When hummingbirds arrive in the north, they are sometimes confronted with unusually cold weather and will enter into a hypothermic torpor tosurvive.

How Fast Is a Hummingbird’s HeartRate?

Hummingbirds have a very high metabolic rate, with a heart rateof 1,260 beats per minute and breaths of 250 times perminute.

The long flights and wing-beating can make a hummingbird weary. As often as every 15 minutes, they look for a place to rest on trees and shrubs with small leaves. Particular plants include birch trees, butterfly bushes, and honeylocusts. Don’t worry if you do not have these plants in your yard—your hummingbird might also rest on yourfeeder’shanger.

Common HummingbirdsTypes

Among the most common hummingbirds are the Ruby-throated, Rufous, and Anna’sHummingbirds.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird usually visits areas east of the Mississippi. The males have a distinctive ruby-red throat. Females are greenish, with a white throat and a notchedtail.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird has a range that closely follows deciduous forests east of the 100th Meridian, according to 1982 research by R. I. Bertin. While most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico, some take a more leisurely route along the coast during spring migration to Mexico and Central America and back in the fall. Males arrive about a week before females during bothmigrations.

Rufous Hummingbird
A popular hummingbird in the western United States, it makes the longest migration—to northern Alaska—for a bird so small. They have been extensively studied for foraging behavior and pollen transfer. An orange gorget and rufous flanks identify this species. Researchers believe that Rufous Hummingbirds had a major influence on the speciation of flowers inCalifornia.

Anna’s Hummingbird
A resident of the Pacific and Southwest states, the male is identified by its red throat and crown. The female has a small red patch on itsthroat.

Do Hummingbirds SeeRed?

We have a bird feeder close to our deck; another one is hanging on my front porch. After we hadnoticed wasps around the feeder and very little hummingbird activity, a friend suggested that wepaint the feederred. Weused some red spray paint one weekend and painted the feeder allred.

Likemagic, the hummingbirds wereback, and the wasps were gone!This isn’t an actual science experiment, but it made us investigatefurther.

It turns out that hummingbirds have a dense concentration of cones in theirretinas. These cones contain pigments and oil droplets in shades of yellow to red, which seem to act like filters. The filters appear to heighten color sensitivity to red and also yellow, while muting colors such asblue.

What Do HummingbirdsEat?

Hummingbirds live on flower nectar and insects, supplemented by food from hummingbird feeders.

Hummingbird FeederRecipe

• We make our own sugar water (1 part white sugar to 4 parts water) and usually have to fill the red backyard feedertwice aweek.
• Mix the sugar and water in a pot and heat on the stovetopenough to dissolve the sugar and allow to cool before putting it intofeeders.

The water itself does NOT need to be tinted. Hummingbirds have remarkable spatial memories and flutter before feeders before they are even hung in thespring.

HummingbirdFlowers

Hummers willzoom towards any nectar-rich flowers. They have a heightened sensitivity to brightly-hued red and yellow flowers, but they are also speedy learners and will find nectar wherever theycan.

The hummingbird is a prolific pollinator of flowers. Research shows that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds deposit 10 times as much pollen as bumblebees. So, to attract hummingbirds to your garden, make sure to include lots of plants known to attracthummingbirds.

What is a hummingbird’s favorite flower? Try bee balm and foxglove, just to name two.See the Almanac article on Flowers That Attract Hummingbirds.

When Do HummingbirdsMate?

Hummingbirds generally mate between March and July, with mid-May being the height of the breedingseason.

These tiny flyersare especially vocal when males interact with other males during the breeding season. Sounds vary from chittering to a humming sound caused by wing movement.

The female selects the nest site and builds the nest—the size of a thimble!—within a week. Common materials for nests are moss and lichen, plant down, spider silk, cotton fibers, feathers, and fur or hair rubbed off onleaves.

Twovery small eggs hatch in about 14 days, and the young fledge in 3 weeks. Pairs are only together for a few days or weeks. After mating, the male is on his own, leaving the female to incubate the eggs and feed the young mostly a diet ofinsects.

What’s a Hummingbird’s LifeSpan?

The life expectancy of ahummingbirdis from 3 to 6 years. The oldest surviving hummingbird was 9 years old. Females outlive males by several years, probably due to the males’ high energy costs of defending territories and the long spring and fallmigrations.

HummingbirdPredators

The main predators of hummingbirds are swift-flying raptors, such as kestrels; other birds, such as blue jays; and some insects, such as the Praying Mantis. Occasionally, one is caught by a large fish as the bird sips nectar from a pondlily.

Listen to the sound of aHummingbird!