Flying Jewels

I captured this brave beauty at Butterfly World’s Jewels of the Sky Aviary, the largest free-flight hummingbird aviary in the United States. It’s a most amazing, beautiful, and fairy-like place — a huge and lush flower-filled habitat of Hummingbirds, Honeycreepers, and Euphonias.

Fun and Fascinating Facts About Hummingbirds:

• Hummingbirds are the second largest family of birds, with more than 325 species
• Early Spanish explorers called hummingbirds “Flying Jewels”
• Hummingbirds are found only in North and South America
• It’s the smallest bird — and the smallest of all animals — with a backbone
• Despite their diminutive size, hummingbirds are aggressive and territorial, regularly attacking jays, crows and hawks
• Hummingbirds have the largest brain of all birds — 4.2% of its total body weight
• Many hummingbirds die during the first year but those that do survive have an average lifespan of 3-4 years. The longest-living hummingbird was a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird that was tagged and recaptured 12 years later
• Hummingbirds have very weak feet — they cannot walk or hop, using them mainly for perching
• Hummingbirds have great eyesight — able to see ultraviolet light, even — but have no sense of smell
• The structure of hummingbirds’ lovely iridescent feathers amplifies certain wavelengths of light, reflecting them directly in front of the bird
• Most of a hummingbird’s weight is in its pectoral muscles — 25-30% reside in their muscles responsible for flight
• The average flight speed of a hummingbird is 20-30 miles per hour, though the birds can reach up to 60 mph in a courtship dive
• They can beat their wings between 50-200 flaps per second, depending on flight patterns and wind conditions
• The hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle, making it the only bird that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down, sideways, and hover mid-air
• Their heart beats at up to 1,260 beats per minute
• A resting hummingbird takes an average of 250 breaths per minute
• Hummingbirds must consume approximately half of their weight in sugar daily, feeding 5-8 times per hour. Much of the sugar they consume comes from flower nectar and tree sap, but they also eat insects and pollen to get their protein
• A hummingbird uses its long, grooved tongue to lap up nectar from flowers and feeders
•  To conserve energy — while sleeping or during food scarcity — hummingbirds can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor), where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of normal sleep. If they’re already weakened, they may not wake from this torpor
• During their spring and fall migrations, the ruby-throated hummingbird makes a non-stop 500-mile-flight across the Gulf of Mexico
• The longest migration of any hummingbird species is that of the rufous hummingbird — they travel more than 3,000 miles from their nesting grounds in Alaska and Canada to winter habitats in Mexico
• Historically hummingbirds were killed for their feathers…. But today, habitat loss and destruction are the hummingbird’s main threats; changing temperatures are also affecting hummingbird migratory patterns, making it harder for them to find food
• An increase in backyard gardens hummingbird feeders allows these birds to refuel during their long migratory journeys — YAY!

Sparkling violet ear hummingbird: I am so pretty, I am so pretty…

Sparkling violet ear hummingbird: Just adore me.