The Natural History of Hummingbirds

The natural history of the hummingbird reveals a creature that requires a considerable amount of food for its size and relies on blossoming flowers and fruit trees for its survival. Fans of the little birds plant special hummingbird gardens or place hummingbird feeders in their yards to attract the colorful birds. Despite their diminutive size, hummingbirds are an impressive example of natural engineering.

  1. Temperature

    • Hummingbirds are warm-blooded birds that maintain a body temperature of between 105 and 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Being small and maintaining a high temperature requires a constantly revving metabolism, partly because their high surface-to-volume ratio allows heat to easily escape. To keep their engine running, hummingbirds must eat frequently, as many as 15 times an hour. The volume of nectar consumed per day can be as much as eight times the weight of the birds.

    Appearance

    • There are more than 300 species of hummingbird, but most are only a few inches long and weigh about 1/10 of an ounce. They have large sternums and tiny feet that are better suited to perching than walking. Their long, slender beaks are ideally designed for drawing nectar from flowers. They have long wings relative to the size of their bodies, and they fly by constantly rotating their wings over and over.

    Nesting

    • Unlike many bird species that share the building of the nests and the raising of their young, hummingbirds are not equally involved in the family dynamic. After a male finds a mate, the female to build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the young. Usually two eggs hatch and the young hummingbirds remain in the nest for about five weeks before they take off on their own.

    Habitat

    • In the wild, many hummingbirds do not survive their first year. Generally, a lifespan of three to four years is common. Hummingbirds raised in protected environments such as botanical gardens or museums may live 8 to 12 years. The birds' natural habitat is primarily defined as North America and South America, as well as the Caribbean islands. The tropics are probably the most dense area for hummingbirds, but anywhere with mild temperatures and a variety of flowers and fruit blossoms for food can have hummingbirds.