Adaptations of the Bee Hummingbird

Tail Adaptations

• Bee hummingbirds, like all hummingbirds, have 10 tail feathers instead of the usual 12. This is to save weight, which conserves energy. Conserving energy is important as hummingbirds have the highest metabolic rate of all animals, and can have a heart rate above 1,200 beats per minute. Like all birds, the tail feathers act as a rudder during flight, but hummingbirds have another adaptation: their tail feathers are able to quickly move up or down, acting as a brake, facilitating quick stops and starts while hovering. Their tail feathers are also very stiff, allowing them to brace the bird while perched.

Head Adaptations

• Adaptations in the head of bee hummingbirds set these birds apart from other types of birds. Their heads are proportionately very large for their bodies and they have large brains for their tiny size, allowing them to adapt to unfamiliar terrain and situations as they migrate. Their eyes are large and have the ability to see into the ultraviolet spectrum, which helps them detect flowers. Many flowers have colors in this spectrum invisible to human sight, and hummingbirds have adapted to see these more clearly, helping them find food.

  Bee hummingbirds have evolved long, thin beaks and very long, stretchy tongues to allow them to drink nectar from deep within the flowers they feed on. Their beak also allows the mouth to open to catch small insects, which are also an important part of their diet. Their faces are streamlined, allowing them to reach deep into flowers, as well as to reduce drag during flight. They have good hearing, and their ears are covered by feathers to keep out pollen and debris.

Wing Adaptations

• Bee hummingbird wings have adaptations that allow the little birds to hover and even fly backwards or sideways. Their wings are narrow and tapered, and have developed the ability to rotate in their sockets much more than other birds. They have incredibly strong breast muscles for their size, and these muscles can move the wings at an amazing rate of 70 to 80 beats per second for bee hummingbirds. All hummingbirds' flight feathers are light but very strong to withstand the huge number of times they beat during flight.

Metabolic Adaptations

• Bee hummingbirds have an incredibly fast metabolic rate and must eat close to their body weight every day. They have developed the ability to enter a torpor, or a state of near hibernation where their heart rate slows to a fraction of its normal rate, allowing them to rest at night or when food supplies are low or hard to find.