Hummingbird – cute tiny bird

A hummingbird is a small bird with a long, slender bill, which lives only in the Americas. It has brightly colored, glittery feathers. The males are more colorful than the females. The male birds of some species have long tail feathers. These birds are named for the humming sound made by the rapid beating of their wings.
There are 320 species of hummingbirds, which make up the family Trochilidae. The largest, giant hummingbird is only about 20 centimeters long and weighs 20 grams. The bee hummingbird is the smallest living bird of any kind and is 2.5 centimeters long.
Hummingbirds have small, weak legs, which are used only for perching, and not for walking. They only move about by flying. Hummingbirds can fly forward, sideways, straight up or down, and even backward.

They feed mainly on nectar and carry the pollen from flower to flower. So, they help the plant to reproduce. They are very active animals and must eat frequently to fuel their high-energy life style. Hummingbirds have a long bill and a long tongue to suck nectar.

Hummingbirds may enter a state of torpor when weather conditions are bad for flying.
Even the smallest hummingbirds can be quite aggressive against much larger birds.
In the past, these birds were hunted in large numbers for their beautiful feathers, which were used to decorate the clothing of fashionable women. Sometimes stuffed birds were used as a decoration on hats and as brooches.
Today they lose their natural habitat.
The hummingbird has a huge heart, which is three times as big as the stomach, and it takes more than a third of the entire body. Their heart makes 500-1000 beats per minute.
It can fly at the speed of up to 70-80 kilometers per hour.
They live about 9 years, but sometimes more.
During migration, they can overcome a thousand kilometers in less than a day.
Hummingbird is on the emblem of the island state of Trinidad and Tobago.
Their egg is as small as a pea and weighs less than two milligrams.

Hummingbird – cute tiny bird

Large hummingbird Violet sabrewing

According to science, purple, or violet sabrewing belongs to the family of hummingbirds. Besides, it is the largest in size species of hummingbird. Thus, it reaches a length of about 14 to 15 cm. Besides, the weight of the male is 11.5, while the weight of females – 9.5. The plumage of sabrewing is beautiful. The downside and the throat of the male is dark purple. White spot behind the eyes clearly stands out against the green and violet top of the ear. Purple head and upper body are greenish-blue till the tail. As for the tail, it is black and purple, while the outer steering feathers are white. In addition, the violet throat of female bird frames “beard”. It also has a white patch behind the eyes, and green top. The lower part of the body is light gray with green specks on the sides. Inner tail feathers are green and black, and the exterior is blackish with white spots. Slightly bent beak and legs are black in both sexes.

Meanwhile, the habitat area of violet sabrewing includes such Central American countries, as Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Hummingbirds usually live in the undergrowth and on the edge of the mountain forests. In search of food, it leaves the evergreen rain-forest and visited people inhabited areas, banana plantations and farmland. Hummingbird lives at altitudes ranging from 500 to 2 400 meters above sea level.
source of images
vk.com/the_world_and_life
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 09 Birds II. 2nd ed

Large hummingbird Violet sabrewing