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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

B is for Bee

...Hummingbird.  The Bee Hummingbird!  The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is found solely on the island of Cuba so, sadly, most of you will never get to see these guys in your life.  The males possess brightly colored breeding plumage that is shed shortly after breeding (March - June) and replaced by more drab plumage.  The females have green plumage with white tips on the tail feathers.


They are very small hummingbirds.  The smallest in the world, in fact, at only 5-6cm long and weighing 1.6-1.9 grams.  For those non-metric folk, that's about the weight of two regular paperclips.  Can you imagine that?!  After having a Fiery-throated Hummingbird land on my finger in Costa Rica and only feeling his teeny claw tips I can't IMAGINE how this would feel-

  

 I doubt you'd even feel him! 

Hummingbirds are unique in their flight pattern, flapping their wings in a figure eight pattern.  This allows them to hover in the air as well as fly backwards.  Bee hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 80 times a second.  When males participate in courtship this number can increase to 200 times per second!  They can fly for up to twenty hours nonstop, much of this time is spent searching for food, mainly nectar.


The female makes a teeny tiny nest, about the size of a quarter, where she will incubate her eggs for approximately 14-16 days.  After hatching she will care for them for about 18-38 days before they leave the nest.


Just like most other species in the world the bee hummingbird is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened.  They are no longer found in much of their historical range due to habitat loss to agriculture and introduced predators. 

17 comments:

  1. Well - the way things are looking I might be able to check this little guy out in person before I die!

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  2. Love Hummingbirds! This little guy is adorable. :)
    There used to be a bush with purple flowers (no idea what it was) at my grandparents house that attracted hummingbirds. I miss sitting and watching them.

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  3. gosh- I cannot imagine such a small bird- thanks for posting this!
    have a great day! HUMMMMMMMMMM

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  4. I love Hummingbirds and love to watch them in my yard. I wonder if I would even be able to see this little guy. So Pretty!

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  5. I keep trying to lure hummingbirds to my yard...alas, I have yet to see one! The one perched on your hand (I'm assuming that it is your hand in the photo) looks ridiculously fluffy for such a little bird!

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    1. Well that particular picture is not mine, however I did have one land on me in Costa Rica which you can view in my post 'When Did We Reach Paradise?' if you're interested!

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  6. Nice 'little' post. That's amazing...200 times a second! Talk about getting her attention....

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  7. What a tiny beautiful bird! Arizona has many species of hummingbirds. I loved to watch the dart around and I learned to recognize their high pitched peeps.

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  8. I love Hummingbirds! My granddaughter and I just hung our own hummingbird feeder and she gets so excited when they arrive!
    So cute!
    Connie #133
    A to Z Challenge.
    Peanut Butter and Whine

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  9. A nest the size of a quarter - I can't even imagine something that tiny!! There are hummingbirds at my parent's place in central Michigan, but they're the ruby-throated variety. I love that they sound & look like tiny little fighter jets!

    Maple Grove Cemetery
    The Life of Lisa
    Maple Grove Cemetery

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  10. What a pretty bird! Following via Google! Happy A-to-Z 2013! ~Angela, Whole Foods Living

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  11. Oh my gosh! I am dying from the cute.
    When I lived in BC I often had hummingbirds come to visit. I loved it best when they would hover in front of my brightly coloured t-shirts thinking I was a flower:)

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  12. That is a tiny and beautiful bird. Thank you for posting the image, it brightened my cold evening.

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  13. A hummingbird landed on your finger? Oh, my! That is awesome! Happy A to Z to U!

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  14. Birds are so light. I once held a Kesrel, a small falcon. Best of luck with the a to z

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    1. Kestrels are definitely another amazing bird out there! And surprisingly small for a bird of prey.

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