Hummingbirds | Description, Species, and Facts

Hummingbirds are small, bright birds having more than 320 species. Their brilliant, glittering colors encourage many people to attract these small birds to their garden. That's why many people use special hummingbird feeders to have these small birds in their garden. The hummingbirds' specialized feathers and unique beaks allow them to get the nectar from the hummingbird's feeders.

In the 19th century, the British naturalist gave them exotic common names, including the coquette, fairy, hill star, wood star, sapphire, topaz, sun gem, and sylph. Many of these names are still used for the hummingbirds. Most of the hummingbird species are found in the New World, South America. Their 12 species are regularly found in the United States and Canada. But the only Ruby-throated hummingbird species found in North America from Nova Scotia to Florida. While the northernmost Rufous hummingbird found in southeastern Alaska to northern California. You can locate the broad-tailed hummingbirds in the western United States and Central America.

Hummingbird Species

Hummingbirds have almost 320 species, as discussed above, but some are more common than the other species. Below are some of the common species of hummingbirds.

Rufous Hummingbirds

Rufous hummingbirds are fairly small hummingbirds with a straight bill. They have short wings that reach the end of the tail while the Rufous hummingbirds are perching. Rufous hummingbirds have 2.8 to 3.5 inches in length with 0.1 to 0.2oz weight with a wingspan of 4.3 inches. Rufous hummingbirds don't want the presence of other hummingbird species on the feeder, and you can find them chasing the other hummingbird species.

Costa's Hummingbirds

The costa's hummingbirds are known for their hunched posture with the small and compact posture. They have a very short tail, which barely meets with their wings during perching. Costa's hummingbirds are slightly larger than the Calliope hummingbirds, with a weight of 2 to 3 grams. They like to get nectar from many desert plants, including the chuparosa and ocotillo.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

These are the small hummingbirds with a slender and slightly down-curved bill. You can easily differentiate the Ruby-throated hummingbirds by their brighter colors, including the gray-white underparts. While the males are featuring the iridescent red throat. But when the light is not too good, it looks dark. The Ruby-throated hummingbird can reach up to 2.8 to 3.5 inches in length and 0.1 to 0.2oz weight with a 3.1 to 4.3 wingspan. They like to get the nectar from hummingbird feeders and tube-shaped flowers.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Broad-tailed is the North American hummingbirds with tiny to medium-sized. Their bill is relatively long, which helps them to easily get the nectar from the feeders and flowers. Their long tail extended behind the wingtips when they are perching. The Broad-tailed hummingbirds have 3.1 to 3.5 inches in length with 0.1 to 0.2oz weight. You can find them zipping from flower to flower to get the nectar.

Anna's Hummingbirds

These are the medium-sized hummingbirds with a straight and shorts bill. Their long tail extends behind the wingtips when they are perching. They can have 3.9 inches length and 0.1 to 0.2oz weight with 4.7 inches wingspan. They are mostly green and grey as compared to other hummingbird species.

Hummingbird Facts

• All the hummingbirds have an almost small size; even the giant hummingbirds of western South America are only 8 inches long. The smallest hummingbird species is the Bee Hummingbird, which is found in Cuba.
• Their compact and strongly muscled body is rather long, with bladelike wings as compared to the other birds.
• Hummingbird's body shape and architecture allow them to move in all directions. They can fly forward, up, and down, sideways, and back.
• They hover around the feeder and flowers to get the nectar due to their special body shape with wings. They get the nectar and insets from the flowers and feeders.
• They are known for their wing beat speed, which can reach up to 80 per second.
• The body feathers of the hummingbird are often strongly metallic and rather scalelike in appearance. In most species, the sexes are different.
• Their bills are rather long and always slender to get the nectar from the flowers and feeders.
• According to a recent study, most of the hummingbird species don't show pair bond formation. Pair-bonds are only formed in the violet-ears and few others.