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Hummingbirds and their Habits

By Sherry Tingley

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 18Nov2009
Word count: 536
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Are you a bird watcher? Have you wanted to know more about them, but didn't have time to find out? Here you will find a detailed description of these beautiful creatures.

Hummingbirds are birds that come from the family of Trochillidae. They are considered to be one of the smallest species of birds in the world. They can suspend themselves in air by flapping their wings about twelve to ninety times per second. A unique characteristic is their ability to fly backwards, and apparently they are the only birds that can do so.

Hummingbirds are called nectarivores which mean they feed on the sweet liquid, also known as nectar, from flowers. Their similarity between bees is their ability to measure the amount of sugar contained in the nectar that they feed upon. Flowers with sweeter nectar, or with higher sugar amount, are more preferable to these birds. But nectar cannot provide the proper amount of nutrients so hummingbirds also feed on spiders and insects to acquire protein and other vitamins and minerals.

Almost all hummingbirds have straight and long bills that are essential for their feeding. But for some species, they have shorter bills for extracting nectar from flowers which have short corollas while others have curved bills for feeding off curved corollas. Unlike most birds, they drink using their uneven and ridged tongues. Hummingbirds seldom eat huge meals at a time; they survive with many small meals a day. In terms of flying, they don't do it very often as it consumes too much energy.

Hummingbirds are known to have a high metabolism, which is greatly needed to aid their fast-flapping wing. They spend the day perching and resting on trees to conserve their energy overnight.

Surprisingly, though they have a fast metabolism, hummingbirds have a relatively long life span. In the very delicate period of hatching and fledgling, many of these birds die and don't survive. But those who stay alive continue to exist for up to ten years or more. The average lifespan though is three to five years among those in North America. The longest lifespan that was ever recorded was twelve years, which was acquired by a female broad-tailed hummingbird.

Most hummingbirds are known to be natives to the Americas. A majority of these birds are found in South and Central America where it is known to have tropical weather, though other species are able to breed in areas with a moderate climate. Black-chinned hummingbirds are the most commonly found of their own species in the west of the United States, but there have been sights of the Ruby-throated hummingbirds near the Mississippi River where this species migrate from time to time. Meanwhile, the Rufous hummingbirds is more commonly known and seen throughout western Canada.

A number of events have been prepared for the celebration of hummingbirds. These include the Hummingbird Festival and the Hummingbird Migration Celebration. The festival itself includes a car show, rides for children, food vendors, sellers of arts and crafts, live music and many more fun activities. The other events are comprised of field trips, hummingbird seminars, garden tours, lectures and other demonstrations that will most definitely catch the attention of bird lovers and non-enthusiasts as well.

Hummingbird pictures are printed on a variety of popular consumer items. They can be found on personal checks, checkbook covers and address labels. Hummingbird checks can be easily and safely ordered online. You'll find the prices will save you money.

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