Wild Bird Blog

Fun Hummingbird Facts!

Hummingbird Facts to Amaze Mere Humans

1. Hummingbirds can fly forwards, backwards, shift sideways and stop in midair.
2. Hummingbirds are the world’s smallest birds.
3. Hummingbirds can reach speeds of 60 mph.
4. On average, a hummingbird consumes half its weight in nectar each day.
5. Hummingbirds may not have a sense of smell. They seem to locate their food (including small insects) entirely by sight.
6. A hummingbird has between 40 and 60 taste buds; a human has approximately 10,000 taste buds.
7. Hummingbirds lap nectar with their tongues at the rate of about 13 licks per second.
8. Hummingbirds feed 5 to 8 times an hour for about 30 to 60 seconds per time.
9. Hummingbirds cool themselves by panting, much as dogs do, and by using an internal evaporative-cooling system.
10. Hummingbirds beat their wings about 78 times per second during regular flight and up to 2000 times during a dive.
11. The fastest wing beat during normal flight – 90 beats per second – belongs to the Sun Gem, a South American species.
12. A hummingbird egg is about the size of a pea; a nest s about the width of a Quarter coin.
13. A hummingbird’s heart beats about 1260 times per minute.
14. Hummingbirds decrease their heart rate and their breathing dramatically overnight. In the morning, it can take more than an hour for a hummingbird to wake up and fly.
15. The adult male “Bee Hummingbird” of Cuba is only 2.24 inches long, including bill and tail. It weighs 0.056 ounces.
16. Hummingbirds may use the same nesting site repeatedly.
17. Hummingbirds bathe by flying through sprinklers or misters, rain showers or through the spray of waterfalls.