(Go Go Sadie) Hope the Hummingbird (Trochilidae)

(Go Go Sadie) Hope the Hummingbird (Trochilidae)

There are many types or species of hummingbirds in the world, as many as 356 species of hummingbirds have been discovered.

Most hummingbirds flap their wings about 50 or so times a second, faster than any other bird; Hummingbirds flap their wings 50 to 200 times per second; they can fly up, down, right, left, backwards, upside down and even loop-de-loops!

They have tiny little feet that are only good for perching, scratching or preening. This means if they wish to move, even a few inches, they must fly.

A hummingbird's heart beats up to 1,260 times per minute.

Hummingbirds fly an average 25-30 mph, but can reach speeds of 60 mph when diving.

Hummingbirds may visit as many as 1,000 flowers per day in their non-stop search for food; they can starve to death in about an hour; they eat every 10 minutes throughout the day. Even though they are tiny birds, they consume up to 50% of their body weight in a day.

Their main diet is sugar which they get from plant nectar or from kind-hearted people with feeders; they also eat bugs for protein. Hummingbirds have grooves on the sides of their tongues; this is to help catch insects; their tongues can take up to 13 licks a second.

Although the hummingbird is the smallest species of bird, its brain accounts for 4.2% of its total body weight, making it, proportionately, the largest brain in the bird kingdom.

Hummingbirds can live 10 or more years in the wild.