Hummingbirds have traditionally been a part of the bird order Apodiformes. Hummingbird-pollinated flowers produce relatively weak nectar (averaging 25% sugars w/w) containing high concentrations of sucrose, whereas insect-pollinated flowers typically produce more concentrated nectars dominated by fructose and glucose. The narrow color spectrum may make hummingbird-pollinated flowers inconspicuous to insects, thereby reducing nectar robbing by insects. However, their flowers do not reflect these wavelengths as many insect-pollinated flowers do. Hummingbirds can see wavelengths into the near- ultraviolet. Many plants pollinated by hummingbirds produce flowers in shades of red, orange, and bright pink, though the birds will take nectar from flowers of many colors. Some species, especially those with unusual bill shapes such as the sword-billed hummingbird and the sicklebills, are co-evolved with a small number of flower species. Since hummingbirds are specialized nectar-eaters, they are tied to the flowers they feed upon. They spend an average of 10–15% of their time feeding and 75–80% sitting and digesting.Ĭo-evolution with flowers Purple-throated carib feeding at a flower Hummingbirds feed in many small meals, consuming many small invertebrates and up to twelve times their own body weight in nectar each day. Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy cost would be prohibitive much of their activity consists of sitting or perching. Like the similar nectar-feeding sunbirds and unlike other birds, hummingbirds drink by using grooved or trough-like tongues which they can stick out a long way. When hummingbirds feed on nectar, the bill is usually only opened slightly, allowing the tongue to dart out into the nectar. The two halves of a hummingbird's bill have a pronounced overlap, with the lower half ( mandible) fitting tightly inside the upper half ( maxilla). The male tooth-billed hummingbird has barracuda-like spikes at the tip of its long, straight bill. The bill of the fiery-tailed awlbill has an upturned tip, as in the Avocets. The sicklebills' extremely decurved bills are adapted to extracting nectar from the curved corollas of flowers in the family Gesneriaceae. Thornbills have short, sharp bills adapted for feeding from flowers with short corollas and piercing the bases of longer ones. Most hummingbirds have bills that are long and straight or nearly so, but in some species the bill shape is adapted for specialized feeding. Nectar is a poor source of nutrients, so hummingbirds meet their needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. They reject flowers whose nectar has less than 10% sugar. Like bees, hummingbirds can assess the amount of sugar in the nectar they eat. When it takes its head back out, its head is covered with yellow pollen, so that when it moves to another flower, it can pollinate. A hummingbird sometimes puts its whole head into the flower to drink the nectar properly. When it does so, it flaps its wings very quickly to stay in one place, which makes it look like a blur and also beats so fast it makes a humming sound. Unlike the butterfly, the hummingbird hovers over the flower as it drinks nectar from it, like a moth.
Hummingbirds do not have a good sense of smell instead, they are attracted to color, especially the color red. The hummingbird depends absolutely on the nectar, more so that any other bird. Hummingbirds help flowers to pollinate, though many other insects also do so.
They can fly at speeds over 15 m/s (54 km/h, 34 mi/h). They are also the only group of birds able to fly backwards. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–80 times per second (depending on the species). The smallest living bird species is the 2–5 cm bee hummingbird. They are among the smallest of birds: most species measure 7.5–13 cm (3–5 in). Hummingbirds are small birds of the family Trochilidae.
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