💥 Lets Get Humming with Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are any of the 300-odd species of small, brightly-colored birds belonging to the family Trochilidae. These birds are small and come from the New World. Hummingbirds get their name from the sound their wings make while flying. Hummingbirds resemble sunbirds and honeyeaters in behavior and appearance.

Hummingbirds inhabit the Americas, extending from south-central Alaska to the Tierra del Fuego and the Caribbean. Most hummingbirds live in warm areas of North, Central, and South America. Some also live in cooler places and high up in the Andes mountains.

They live in various places like grasslands, meadows, marshes, canyons, and forests, including tropical, coniferous, and deciduous forests. Hummingbirds typically inhabit places with an abundance of plants and insects, and they find large numbers there.

Most North American hummingbirds live for about 3-5 years on average. The longest-lived wild specimen is a broad-tailed hummingbird that survived for about 12 years.

Hummingbirds like flowers with tube-shaped blossoms full of nectar. Here are some popular flowers that hummingbirds love:

• Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans): This vine produces bright orange or red trumpet-shaped flowers that are irresistible to hummingbirds.
• Salvia (Salvia spp.): Salvia plants like scarlet sage and pineapple sage have tube-shaped flowers that hummingbirds like.
• Fuchsia (Fuchsia spp.): Fuchsia flowers have long, tube-shaped petals in bright colors. They attract hummingbirds with their sweet nectar.
• Bee Balm (Monarda spp.): Bee balm, also known as bergamot or Oswego tea, has tube-shaped flowers in various colors that attract hummingbirds.
• Trumpet Honeysuckle: A vine with red or orange tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds. Also this is a native plant.
• Columbine (Aquilegia spp.): Columbine flowers have special petals and come in different colors like red, pink, purple, and yellow, which attract hummingbirds.
• Penstemon (Penstemon spp.): Penstemon, also called beardtongue, has tube-shaped flowers in red, pink, purple, blue, or white that attract hummingbirds.
• Lily (Lilium spp.): Some types of lilies, like trumpet lilies and Turk's cap lilies, have trumpet-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds looking for nectar.
• Zinnia (Zinnia spp.): Zinnias are colorful flowers that look like daisies and attract hummingbirds and butterflies because they have lots of nectar.
• Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens): Similar to trumpet honeysuckle, coral honeysuckle produces clusters of tubular red or orange flowers that hummingbirds love.

These few examples of flowers attract hummingbirds. Planting flowers with tube-shaped blooms can attract hummingbirds to your garden. These flowers provide nectar-rich food sources for the hummingbirds.

Having a variety of flowers can help attract more hummingbirds to your yard. Also, adding a shallow birdbath can make the area better for these lovely birds by giving them water.

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures known for their agility, unique behavior, and vibrant colors. Here are some cool facts about them:

• Flight Abilities: Hummingbirds are the only birds capable of sustained hovering flight. They can also fly backward and upside down, thanks to their unique wing structure and rapid wing beats.
• Fast Wings: They have incredibly fast wing beats, ranging from around 50 to 80 beats per second, depending on the species. This rapid movement creates the characteristic humming sound, hence their name.
• High Metabolism: Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolism rates among vertebrates. To fuel their energy demands, they must consume nectar frequently, visiting hundreds of flowers every day.
• Bright feathers: Birds' colorful feathers come from how light bounces off them, not from pigments. It all depends on how they arrange their feathers. This allows them to shimmer and appear to change color depending on the angle of view.
• Migration: Some small hummingbirds travel long distances. The small bird flies from North America to Central America. It crosses the Gulf of Mexico in a non-stop flight. The flight is about 500 miles (800 kilometers) long.
• Territorial Behavior: Male hummingbirds are fiercely territorial and will defend their feeding and breeding territories vigorously, often engaging in aerial battles to assert dominance.
• Hummingbirds use their long, extendable tongues to lap up nectar from flowers. Birds' tongues can reach far beyond their beaks to get nectar from deep inside flowers.
• Hummingbirds can taste sweetness in nectar and only drink from flowers with nectar that has over ten percent sugar.
• Tiny Eggs: Their eggs are among the smallest in the bird kingdom, about the size of a jellybean. Baby hummingbirds grow quickly and leave the nest in just a few weeks.
• Wild hummingbirds: usually live 3 to 5 years, but some can live over 10 years in captivity.
• Hummingbirds: are important for pollination by moving pollen between flowers while drinking nectar. They are important species. Hummingbirds help plants grow, which is important for the environment's health and diversity..

These are just a few highlights of the fascinating world of hummingbirds!

Male hummingbirds perform fancy dances to impress females and mark their territory during mating season. After choosing a mate, the female bird makes a small nest out of plants like moss, lichen, and spider silk. She usually builds it in a safe spot like a tree branch or shrub.

Female hummingbirds lay 1 to 3 eggs, depending on the species, and incubate them for about 14 to 21 days. After the eggs hatch, the mother bird feeds the babies nectar and insects. This continues until they are old enough to fly away. This usually takes 3 to 4 weeks.

Hummingbirds move long distances between where they breed and where they spend the winter. Even though they are small, these birds travel long distances across water, depending on good weather.

They migrate based on food and climate, going back to the same places every year. Bird migration survival is at risk from habitat loss and collisions. We must conserve to protect these amazing birds.