Yep, you guessed it! Today we are going to learn about the Worlds Smallest Bird, the Bee Hummingbird! Is it just me or does naming small animals after the “Bee” seem to be the cool thing to do? In order to catch a glimpse of our tiny Hummingbird, we will need to pack up and head to Cuba. Just so you know, the Bee Hummingbird is called the “Zunzun” in Cuba so don’t be confused if you hear this terminology being used. Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s grab our binoculars and passports and catch our flight to this tropical island.
There will be no suspense in today’s Wild Fact. The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest living bird in the World with a length of 5.0 cm (2″) and a weight of 1.8 grams (0.063 oz). To help put their weight into perspective, I want you go and grab an American or Canadian penny. Got it? Good! Now pretend that penny is the Worlds Smallest Bird since they pretty much weigh the same. Mind blowing, isn’t it? Although this Hummingbird is incredibly small they still have beautiful colouring.
The Bee Hummingbird has beautiful bluish-green upper feathers with a grey or white underside. The wings of the females typically have white spots at the tips, while the males have blue spots on their wingtips. Once breeding season rolls around, the male Bee Hummingbird cranks up their fashion statement by adding a red to pink head and throat to their ensemble. Naturally, the purpose of this colour shift is to try and grab the attention of that special female hummingbird. I guess it is better than using cheesy pickup lines!
On an average day, the Bee Hummingbird will flap their wings about 80 times per second during flight. Think about that for a second! You think that is crazy? Again during mating season, in another attempt to impress, the Bee Hummingbird will flap their wings about 200 times per second during their courtship displays. Yeah, 200 times per second! I can’t even begin to comprehend that. As you can imagine, this crazy, little bird has the second fastest heart-rate of all animals. I believe the Amethyst Woodstar Hummingbird has the fastest heart rate.
Bee Hummingbird Fast Fact – Not surprising the Bee Hummingbird spends a good deal of their day eating and drinking just to keep up with their quick metabolism. In fact, they typically eat half their body mass and drink about 8 times their body mass in water each and every day. To put that in perspective, if you weighed 150 lbs… you would need to eat 75 lbs of food every day.
Looks like we are at the end of another Wild Fact. I hope you enjoyed today’s Smallest Bird Species. See you tomorrow for another World Record Holder.
