Hummingbird

• Status: Threatened
• Woodlands and forest edges of Cuba, in fragmented areas

Numbers

Weight

0,07 oz0.07 ounces in males, 0.09 ounces in females

Length

2,2 in2.2 inches in males, 2.4 inches in females

Lifespan

7 yearsup to 7 years in the wild, up to 10 in captivity

Wingbeats

200 per secondfrom 80 to 200 beats per second

Flowers per day

1500 flowersmaximum number observed in one day

Speed

30 mphfrom 25 to 30 mph

Ten fun facts

1. 01

   that its average wingspan is one and a quarter inches, which is closer to the wingspan of a butterfly than a bird.

2. 02

   that on a typical day it eats up to half of its own body weight in nectar, small insects, and spiders.

3. 03

   that its nest is a cup just one inch wide, built ten to sixteen feet above the ground in small branches.

4. 04

   that each nest is used only once, and the female builds a completely new one for every single brood she lays.

5. 05

   that its eggs are the size of coffee beans and the female lays at most two of them at a single time.

6. 06

   that it lives up to seven years in the wild and can reach up to ten full years when kept in captivity.

7. 07

   that it has been described as the smallest known dinosaur, because living birds are actually surviving theropod dinosaurs.

8. 08

   that researchers have observed it visiting ten different plant species, nine of which are native only to the island of Cuba.

9. 09

   that the flowers it visits are odorless, with long narrow petals, bright colors, and very diluted sugary nectar.

10. 10

    that the female incubates the eggs alone for twenty-one days, then takes care of the chicks for eighteen more days.

The quiz answers

The first one is the question printed in your book: here is the answer. The other four are extra.

Try it yourself

Data from Wikidata (Q213036) and Wikipedia (Bee hummingbird).