Hobbies And Interests
The Facts
The smallest of any bird, hummingbirds are easily recognized by their ability to hover in the air and by their long tubular beaks. They eat flower nectar for its sugar. They also eat insects and spiders, for protein and fat, which they can catch in mid-air. Hummingbirds don't sing. Rather, they chase each other, squeaking. Usually they lay two unmarked white eggs at a time in nests that are as small as walnuts, shaped like cups, and cushioned with spider webs, butterfly cocoons and mosses. It takes an average of 12 to 18 days for the eggs to hatch depending on the variety of hummingbird.
Geography
The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America lists 21 species of hummingbirds that make their home on the continent, most of whom live west of the Rocky Mountains. Only the ruby-throated hummingbird is native to more eastern parts of North America. This hummingbird has a wide range that goes north to Maine, south to Florida, and west past the Mississippi River. Sometimes it is even seen as far west as California.
Thirteen of the hummingbird species are common to Mexico and its US border regions. Black-chinned hummingbirds, costa's hummingbird, Anna's hummingbird, the broad-tailed hummingbird, calliope hummingbird, rufous hummingbird, and Allen's hummingbird are native to the western US. The birds migrate south each year because they rely so heavily on nectar for food.
Features
Each variety of hummingbird has some green feathers. Most also have white, brown, and many have red or purple as well. The males tend to be more colorful than the females. Hummingbirds can hover in the air because of a unique ability to rotate their shoulders to move the wings both forward and back. The vibrations caused by their rapidly moving wings as they hover makes a humming sound which explains their name.
Size
Part of what makes us so fascinated with hummingbirds is their minute size. The smallest hummingbird, calliope, measures three-and-one-quarter-inch in length. Three varieties of hummingbird, lucifer, xantus, and costas each measure three-and-one-half inches in length.
The largest hummingbirds are the blue-throated, the magnificent and the plain-capped starthroat which each reach an adult length of five-and-one-half inches. The most commonly seen hummingbird in the US, the ruby-throated hummingbird, grows to an adult length of three-and-three-quarter inches.
Benefits
Gardeners and bird lovers go to great lengths to attract hummingbirds by setting out feeders with sweetened water, colored red, and by planting the flowers that they love. These include flowers like hibiscus, trumpet vine, monarda, and mimosa. Not only do the hummingbirds provide the onlookers with a great deal of pleasure, they brush up against the flowers with their top feathers while sucking out the nectar. Then they carry the pollen on their heads to the next flower they visit, cross-pollinating it at the same time. Hummingbirds also eat large numbers of insects and spiders.