Hummingbirds can fly backwards

Hummingbird is one of the smallest and beautiful birds in the world. Most of their species are about 7.5 to 13 centimeters in length but Bee Hummingbird is the smallest as its length is about 5-cm. This small flying beauty just weighs about 5 grams. They usually make their nests in branches of trees. They are found in USA, Mexico and many other countries of South America depending upon the weather. Most of there species are migratory and change their locations during winters.



Some facts about Hummingbirds:

  • They can fly backwards and no other species of birds in the world can do so. They can even fly up, down and sideways like a helicopter.
  • They drink nectar from flowers to feed themselves like bees. They prefer those flowers that produces nectar with more than 10% of sugar in it. An interesting fact is that they can eat from 2 to 8 times of their body weight just in a single day. Sometimes they also eat bugs for the sake of proteins.
  • Some of their senses are very much stronger than humans so they can see farther and can hear better than humans. They can even see infrared or ultraviolet lights which cannot be seen through a naked human eye.
  • A newborn hummingbird is so small in size that it may just be equal to a penny.
  • The average life span of a hummingbird is about 5 years but most of them die in first year of life.
  • They can beat their wings from 10 to 100 times per SECOND according to their sizes while they may be increased up to 200 beats per second when diving.
  • Their flying speed may reach about 49 mph.
  • Some smaller species of hummingbirds can make their nest on leaves of trees.

Hopefully you liked the information about this small but wonderful bird. We’d love to see your
feedback on the post, specially if someone from USA or South America can share their experience or knowledge about Hummingbirds they are warmly welcome to do so.

Image credit: DrPhotoMoto AnnCam


Leave a Reply

Wanting to leave an <em>phasis on your comment?

Trackback URL http://www.yesiknowthat.com/hummingbirds-can-fly-backwards/trackback/