Anatomy of a Hummingbird

Head

• One striking feature of the hummingbird is its long beak. Seemingly long in proportion to its body, the beak is used to reach into tubular flowers. Once in place, the bird extends an even longer tongue used to lap nectar at a rate of 13 times per second. The hummingbird's ability to taste is also poor because it has no sense of smell, but good enough to detect what is good and sweet to eat.

  Hummingbirds are considered very smart and possess a brain that is also large in proportion to its body. Remembering each flower they visit, hummingbirds are able to gage when a flower's nectar has refilled and is ready for feeding. With ears on either side of its head, its hearing is better than many humans. With eyes placed on the sides of its head, the hummingbird is able to use both eyes together or separately. Their vision is far more acute than humans, since the birds have more rods and cones than the human eye.

Body

• The brightly colored neck of the hummingbird often attracts females for mating. Their soft bellies hold internal organs, while the breast and rib cage protect the lungs and heart. Much like the hummingbird's sense of taste and smell, its legs and feet are a considerably weak feature. The hummingbird's short legs are designed to decrease weight for flight, and they serve little function compared to their wings. Thirty percent of the hummingbird's total weight is muscle for flight.

Bones

• The hummingbird possesses incredibly lightweight bones. While most bones are exceptionally porous, the leg and wing bones are hollow, lightening the load even more. This delicate but crucial feature makes the hummingbird most unique and fascinating.

Organs

• As hummingbirds feed, food enters the esophagus and travels to the crop, a holding sac. Once the crop is full, the bird rests as the food empties into the digestive system. Food then proceeds into the gizzard through the duodenum and large intestines.

  Everything about the hummingbird seems to run at warp speed. The lungs and heart are no exception. The lungs serve a twofold purpose, breathing at a rate of 250 respirations per minute while oxygenating blood and cooling off the body. The hummingbird's heart beats about 250 beats per minute during rest and up to 1,260 beats per minute in flight. As another measurable large organ, the heart makes up 1.75 to 2.5 percent of its body weight.

  Hummingbirds have nearly all of the organs humans do, but not all. They are missing a urinary bladder, gall bladder, male penis, and female right ovary. It is thought that these organs are not duplicated or missing to save space and optimize flight.

Wings

• The hummingbird has more feathers per square inch than any other bird. Its wings are virtually invisible during flight and have remarkable capabilities to hover, fly backward, forward and even upside down for a short time. Unlike most birds that flap their wings up and down, the hummingbird's wings hinge on ball and socket joints, thus allowing different wing patterns. Oval patterns allow the hummingbird to fly in a particular direction, while the figure eight pattern allows it to hover. Hummingbird wing speeds range from 70 to 200 flaps per second, depending on the flight maneuver. Unlike most birds that fly flat and straight, hummingbirds fly with their bodies in an upright position.