Today, science knows about five hundred species of these wonderful birds.It's hard to believe, but the smallest bird in the world does not exceed the size of a bumblebee!However, there are also large individuals: they are the size of a sparrow.
What do they eat?
Please note that at the end of a head of a hummingbird is no ordinary bird's beak, but something in the form of an elongated proboscis.The fact that the smallest bird in the world feeds on flower nectar!And beak-proboscis her in this great help.The bird on the fly, not sitting on the plant, sucking nectar from a flower to its tubular tongue that can be put out of a long beak at a certain distance.Note that sucked nectar not retained in the stomach, it immediately passes into the intestine.This is a very high-calorie food for hummingbirds.Besides flower nectar, hummingbirds menu are small insects that live in the flowers and leaves of trees.Interestingly, these birds are eaten per day twice its own weight!
quick flight
smallest bird in the world to fly with such speed that the naked eye for its flight track is simply impossible.They are so fast in flight flap their wings, which are only visible from the shadow of their movement!Can you imagine for one second they make up to 80 strokes of the wings at a speed of 90 kilometers per hour!Flight - quick stop - instant, turns - cutting.The position of the calf bystroletayuschih birds changed instantly!
Live rainbow
Color of the birds are not due to the color of its plumage.Sunbeam plays its feathers: depending on his fall, in different parts of the body can be seen as if all the color play of precious stones.Some scholars argue that the human eye is unable to grasp all the nuances of this truly wonderful plumage.Even in the museum small bird hummingbird, presented in the form of stuffed animals, it shimmers like a real rainbow!
Everyday work
Interestingly, the smallest bird in the world never gets to the ground, "hanging" on the night, like bats mammals (bats) - "upside down."Hummingbirds do not fall asleep in the ordinary sense of the word.They fall into the so-called suspended animation: the work of their heart slows, breathing slows down, the temperature of the calf becomes twice below ... But the morning comes and the sun begins to warm, like a hummingbird "come alive" and start to work, they say, in daily rhythm: flyfrom flower to flower in search of nectar, chasing gnats, etc.If you have a hummingbird chicks, then using its proboscis miracle she feeds flower nectar both them and herself.
small but courageous
Hummingbird - a rather bold bird.They bravely defend their nests and chicks, and eggs, which, by the way, the size of only a pea, and can fearlessly attack the enemy.There were cases when a little bird a powerful blow to the eye tree snake threw her to the ground!
Unfortunately, in Russia the hummingbird is not found.But we have our own feathered baby.The smallest bird Russia - goldcrest, but that's another story, friends ...
