Hummingbird Video

A year or so ago Illustra Media produced a beautiful film about butterflies, and they now have another one in the works on birds. The trailer is a lovely close-up of the amazing phenomenon of hummingbird flight. Note how the hummingbird can fly both backwards and sideways. They can also fly upside down, and are the only kind of bird in the world that can do all this. Their wings beat an astonishing 70 times a second in normal flight and they weigh about as much as a penny.

Some other interesting facts about these birds include:

• Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world.
• The bright radiant color on hummingbirds comes from iridescent coloring like on a soap bubble or prism.
• Hummingbirds are very smart and they can remember every flower they have been to, and how long it will take a flower to refill.
• Hummingbirds have little to no sense of smell.
• Hummingbirds do not drink though their beaks like a straw. They lap up nectar with their tongues.
• Hummingbirds have very weak feet and can barely walk. They prefer to fly.
• Hummingbirds do not mate for life.
• Hummingbirds have an average life span of about 5 years.
• Hummingbirds can live for more than 10 years.
• A hummingbird will visit an average of 1,000 flowers per day for nectar.
• Hummingbirds eat small soft bugs for protein.
• A hummingbird will lap up nectar at a rate of about 13 licks per second.
• Hummingbirds are only found naturally in the Americas.
• There are more than 300 types or species of hummingbirds. Most of which are found in South America.
• There are more than fifteen (15) types or species of hummingbirds that breed in the United States.
• Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, the only species which breeds in the eastern U.S., have been known to travel 500 miles over the Gulf of Mexico to breeding grounds, a 20 hour non-stop trip.

Check the link for more.