I chose an apartment on the third floor so I would be on a level with birds. One day while I was standing on my balcony, a hummingbird flew right by my nose. That was probably because of the hummingbird feeders on my neighbors’ balconies. My feeder was not a success. Ants loved it. However, a friend who does stained-glass windows, gave me this glass hummingbird to hang in my window:

We are lucky to have these fascinating birds in North America. I did some research and discovered that they are amazing in many ways. Like a helicopter, they can fly in any direction and hover.  Unlike other birds, they have blade-like wings connected only from the shoulder. This enables them to fly straight up and down, sideways, and backwards. Their top speed is 34 miles per hour.

Another thing that sets hummingbirds apart is that they do not walk or hop like other birds. They shuffle sidesways.

Some Facts

The wings of small hummingbirds can flap 99 times a second! They create a humming sound. Hence, their name. They do make various chirping and tweeting sounds, as you can hear in the video below, which also shows a variety of these birds.

There are 375 species of hummingbirds, but like some other creatures, they are declining. One species migrates between Alaska and Mexico, a journey of about 3,900 miles!

Two 30-million-year-old hummingbird fossils have been discovered. They are the smallest, living relative of dinosaurs. The little ones are three to five inches. The bee hummingbird weighs less than .07 ounces. The largest hummingbird is 1.09 ounces.

Hummingbirds can detect ultraviolet light. Their favorite color is red.

The lifespan of ruby-throated hummingbirds is three to five years.

Their Menu

Hummingbirds feed while hovering, not perching as other birds do. They have long beaks, either straight or curved, to feed on nectar. Their long tongues are forked along the sides to take in the nectar. Hummingbirds spend most of their days sitting and digesting.

Besides nectar, hummingbirds eat small insects like fruit flies and small spiders. Their favorite insects are midges, which should please those people near Lake Erie who are plagued annually by those bugs. Hummingbirds can use up 150,000 calories a day. To preserve energy, they enter a torpor, a deep sleep state.

Courtship and Children

Male hummingbirds have the most diverse colors of all birds. In fact, many have are iridescent throat feathers. Their plumage makes them attractive to the females.

During courtship the males show off. They fluff out their throat feathers and do aerial feats. They fly in loops, dive bomb, and ascend rapidly.  Anna’s hummingbird rises about 115 ft. above a female and dives at 89 feet per second, twice the speed of peregrine falcons pursuing prey. In addition the males sing complex songs to court their chosen one. They might also chase the females or fly back and forth in a wide arc in front of her.

Females build the family nest, a small cup about an inch and a half in diameter. She builds up the walls to fit her body, using silk from spiderwebs, lichen, bark, and moss. Wisely, the nest is under branches to shield from rain. The woman is also solely responsible for the young ones.

About two weeks after mating, she lays two eggs the size of a pea. She incubates them for two or three weeks until they hatch. For three of four weeks she feeds them and then the young birds can fly.

Both male and female birds are promiscuous.

By the Way

Interestingly, Aztecs believed that fallen warriors are reincarnated as hummingbirds.

Hummingbird cake is made with crushed pineapple and bananas with cream cheese frosting. Supposedly it originated in Jamaica, whose national bird is a hummingbird. The name fits the cake, which is a sweet dessert. It is rather simple to make. Here is a recipe.

Creation, the work of God’s hands, reveals him to us. The hummingbird shows God’s ingenuity, tenderness, and love of beauty.

Have you ever eaten or made hummingbird cake?

Do you see hummingbirds where you live?