The Riverside Press-Enterprise
TINY AND MIGHTY
A look at the tiny and mighty migrators buzzing around our flowers
There are over 350 different species of hummingbirds across the Americas. Their little bodies have big appetites and they eat about half their body weight a day. They eat flower nectar and from feeders but also eat tree sap and small insects when flowers are hard to find.
The eyes have it
They have superb visual acuity. They see color better than humans, with their vision extending into the ultraviolet spectrum.
Their hearts pump about 1,200 beats per minute and their normal body temperature is more than 100 degrees.
They sleep, but can also go into what's called torpor, a sleep-like state with slower metabolism when migrating.
Scientists did not believe they had a sense of smell until a study by UC Riverside published in 2021 proved otherwise.
Populations
Christopher Clark, a professor at UC Riverside's Department of Evolution, Ecology and Oranismal Biology, studies hummingbird flight. He had this to say about how their populations are faring: “Most populations are doing fine. Most but not all. In Southern California, the Calliope Hummingbirds used to breed in the San Gabriels and the San Jacintos, but in recent decades they have disappeared, and nearly disappeared from the San Bernardinos. I suspect climate change. There are still lots of them further north in the Sierras. Worldwide there are a handful of critically endangered species. On the flip side, in Southern California, Allen's Hummingbird population continues to grow very rapidly, and expanding into new areas, currently near Lancaster and east of San Diego. Allen's love eucalyptus and garden plants (and feeders).”
Feeders are fine
Red plastic feeders filled with sugar water attract the birds. If you are using a feeder, clean it regularly and protect it from ants, bees and other uninvited visitors.
One part refined sugar four parts water.
Boil, then let it cool and fill the feeder.
Long tongues
The hummingbird tongue as described in research by Alejandro Rico-guevara who is at the University of Washington:
Hummingbirds wrap their long tongues inside their head. They can flick their tongue 12-15 times a second.
Liquid is trapped by its tongue that can split at the tip to grab the nectar.
Nesting
Hummingbird nests are tiny, about the width of a half dollar and the eggs are jelly bean size. Nests are made from thistle or dandelion down and held together with spider silk and pine sap. Males are very territorial and will fight to the death.
Mothers have no more than two eggs at a time and can have four clutches a year.
Hummingbirds are protected by state and federal laws. It is illegal to possess a hummingbird. If you find an injured hummingbird, search for a rehabilitation right away.
Biggest and smallest
The giant hummingbird lives in South America and weighs about 0.63–0.85 ounces. It has a wingspan of approximately 8.5 inches. It can be 9 inches long or about the size of a northern cardinal.
Its weight is almost twice that of the next heaviest hummingbird species and 10 times that of the smallest.
It has a much slower wing beat that other hummingbirds at a rate of 15 per second.
Their two cents worth
Wingspan: About 4.3 inches
The Bee hummingbird in Cuba, is the smallest bird in the world. It weighs, 1.6 grams (less than a dime) and is about 2 inches long. Most hummingbirds tip the scales at about the weight of two pennies.
The Bee hummingbird's wings beat about 65 times a second.
Iridescent feathers
Hummingbirds are not the only birds with bright feathers, but they have some of the brightest. Structures called melanosomes within feather cells reflect light.