7 facts about hummingbirds that will blow your mind

Introduction

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures, but there is so much more to them than just their ability to fly in any direction or their tiny size. Did you know that hummingbirds can’t walk? They only use the ground as a place for nesting and mating. They don’t even have feet! That’s right, they just stand on their legs and never put one foot in front of the other,

like us humans do. This allows them to save energy while flying because they aren’t using it to move around on solid surfaces. The average length of a hummingbird is about six inches long with wingspans averaging at around three and a half inches wide. Their weight can range anywhere from two-tenths of an ounce at the lightest end up.

 Most people think they know everything there is to know about hummingbirds, but the truth is that they actually have some pretty surprising secrets! In this blog post, we will explore 10 facts about hummingbirds that will blow your mind and show you how truly amazing these little birds are.

1 HUMMINGBIRDS EAT UP TO 12 TIMES PER HOUR

Hummingbirds can eat up to 12 times per hour which means they practically never stop eating. This is why it’s so important to have feeders with multiple feeding ports, as well as having several of them placed in different areas around your yard. A hummingbird will use each port until the food runs out before moving on to the next one.

Hummingbirds are amazing nectar extractors and can hover at a flower while upside down slurping up all that sweet goodness inside! It’s impossible for us humans to mimic this action, but our favorite hummingbird feeder allows you to hang upside down without any spills or messes because there isn’t even any liquid inside! When these tiny birds aren’t flitting from blossom to blossom looking for their tasty treat, they like to keep busy and actually take baths. How cute is that?!

2 HUMMINGBIRD EGGS HATCH AFTER 2 WEEKS

Hummingbird eggs hatch after two weeks of incubation, Hummingbirds lay their eggs over the course of several days, not all at once like other birds. A mother hummingbird can make up for this lack by sitting on them every day (or night) and keeping them warm until they hatch after two weeks. When newly hatched baby hummingbirds are born, they weigh only half an ounce!

The babies stay in the nest anywhere from 11 to 18 days before flying out into the world on their own. They will continue to feed off of mom’s milk while she continues feeding her young ones nectar meals throughout that time period unless it is close enough to fledge where food sources may not be available yet. A new feather emerges through its skin each day during this period of growth until it is fully fledged.

3 HUMMINGBIRDS ARE FOUND ONLY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

Found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, hummingbirds’ range extends from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, from sea-level rain forests to the edges of Andean snowfields and ice fields at altitudes of 15,000 feet.

A few species of hummingbird reach the United States, but only one in common: the ruby-throated hummingbird. The smallest bird in North America and the third smallest on earth, most hummers weigh about as much as a U.S. penny (three to four grams). A few species of hummingbirds reach the US; however, only one in common: the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

Hummingbirds are found only in tropical regions because their food source depends entirely upon flowering plants that produce nectar from flowers; consequently, they require another plant structure for nesting.

4 HUMMINGBIRD’S HEART BEATS MORE THAN 1200 TIMES PER MINUTE.

A hummingbird’s heart beats more than 1200 times per minute. That is almost 20x faster than the human heartbeat, which averages at about 60 beats a minute.

Hummingbirds’ hearts are large for their size and they beat very fast (about 80-90 times per second) in order to send oxygenated blood throughout their little bodies with every contraction; when hovering, this rate increases up to 200 bpm!

Blood flows freely through the arteries but has trouble passing through smaller capillaries where it must drop its oxygen load before returning to the lungs because of gravity. The birds move these tiny vessels out of the way by compressing them so that even while feeding on nectar from a flower or feeder, nearly all available

5 HUMMINGBIRDS DO NOT WALK

Their legs are too short to take steps, so instead, they shuffle along the ground with quick shuffling motions. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward. Their wings move so quickly they make a buzzing sound, which is how their name came about. They flap their wings from 12 to 80 times per second! That’s over 200 flaps in one single second!

6 AGE OF HUMMINGBIRDS

Have you ever thought: How long do hummingbirds live? Well, if yes, here’s the answer . Hummingbirds have a life expectancy of about five years. However, it is difficult to track wild hummingbirds due to their tiny size and flyaway behavior. This means that the oldest living hummer could be a lot older than five years!

A common myth about the hummingbird species is that hummers hibernate or dies after migrating from North America to South America for the winter months. Although many do travel quite far south before finding a warm-weather location where they can wait out harsh conditions, not all individuals make it back up north again come springtime!

7 : 325 UNIQUE SPECIES OF HUMMINGBIRDS.

There are 325 species of hummingbirds. Hummingbirds weigh about as much as a penny. The weight of hummingbirds is about one-tenth of an ounce, or the same weight as a penny. Hummingbird brains are the size of BBs. Their brains are tiny – only slightly larger than a BB (about 0.75 inches in diameter).

Hummingbirds have underdeveloped legs. They can’t walk or hop like other birds, but they are fast fliers. Their back legs are so undeveloped that they aren’t able to move them; however, their wings allow them to fly quickly.

Did you know? Hummingbird tongues act as straws.

Hummingbirds use the long tongues that they have to suck the nectar out of flowers. Their tongues act as straws, and are so thin (0.0079 inches) that it is nearly impossible for anyone to see them without a microscope! This allows them to easily extract nectar from flowers quickly so they do not starve or become dehydrated.

Please leave a comment if you have more fun facts about hummingbirds to share with us. Thanks for reading this blog post on the top ten facts about hummingbirds that will blow your mind! Please feel free to leave comments and subscribe so we can keep in touch.

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