ACE FLYER he world’s smallest bird weighs less than Bee T a U.S. penny. The bee hummingbird tips ird the scales at just 2.3 grams (0.08 oz.). B It may be small, but this tiny bird has some amazing Humming moves. Strong flight muscles account for up to one-third of the bird’s body weight. The shoulder joints in the bird’s skeleton allow the wings to turn in all directions. With wings that beat about 80 times per second, a bee hummer is able to hover, back up, and zip around as fast as 48 kilometers (30 mi.) per hour! You might think flying is easy for such a lightweight bird. But a bee hummingbird’s body systems work hard to keep it moving. It spends most of the day eating and digesting food. Nectar from flowers and insects make up most of Movement its diet. It may visit as many as 1,500 flowers in a day! The bee hummingbird has a large brain for its size. Its INSIDE LIVING THINGS INSIDE brain helps the bird remember which flowers have nectar. The rapidly beating wings Then the brain sends messages to the bird’s muscles of a hummingbird make a through nerves, and the bird flies to those flowers. humming sound. That’s why it’s called a humming bird. Why do you think male bee hummingbirds are more colorful than the females? File female bee hummingbird male bee hummingbird © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. Credits: left: © FLPA/Alamy; top right: © iStockphoto.com/peterspiro; www.sciencea-z.com Investigation File bottom left: © Pete Oxford/Minden Pictures; bottom right: © FLPA/Superstock 1 COMPARING FLAP SPEED OF BIRD WINGS Live Fast, 80 80 Rest Hard 70 Much of a bee hummingbird’s life is on 60 the fast track. To fly as rapidly as it does, a hummingbird has a very fast respiration 50 rate. In fact, it takes about 500 breaths 40 per minute while flying! The hummingbird’s 30 27 fast breathing rate helps it get enough oxygen to fly. Flaps per Second Wing 20 14 In relation to its size, the bee hummer’s 10 7 heart is large. It can beat up to 1,200 1 0 times a minute, or 20 beats per second! vulture pigeon mockingbird chickadee hummingbird That’s what’s needed to circulate enough oxygen-rich blood throughout the bird’s tiny body. In order to keep up such a pace, How many more times will a a bee hummingbird must eat up to hummingbird flap its wings in one-half its body weight each day! one minute than a vulture? But on cold nights, a hummingbird may go into a deep sleep called WHERE BEE HUMMINGBIRDS LIVE torpor. In this state, the bird’s Florida Gulf of circulation and breathing slow Mexico down, and its body temperature Cuba falls. Torpor helps the hummer save energy since it is unable CENTRAL Atlantic AMERICA Ocean to feed at night. A bee hummingbird takes a quick rest. Bee hummingbirds live only on the island of Cuba, shown in red. © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. Investigation File Credits: bottom left: © Kevin Elsby/Alamy; top row, left to right: © Eric Isselee/123RF; (2): © Oleg Doroshin/123RF; (3,4): © Steve Byland/123RF; www.sciencea-z.com Inside Living Things } Movement } Bee Hummingbird (5): © iStockphoto.com/rappensuncle; bottom right: © Lee Dalton/Alamy 2.