Hummingbird . Hummingbirds (also known as quindes, tucusito, hummingbird, chupamirto, chuparrosas or guanumby) belong to the Trochilinae subfamily, and together with the Hermitas that belong to the Phaethornithinae subfamily make up the Trochilidae family , which in the new system of Charles Sibley are classified in a proper order Trochiliformes , separating them from the swifts of the order Apodiformes. They are for many authors the only family of the order. These are the smallest birds in the world. The family of hummingbirds comprises more than 100 genera that are divided into a total of 330 to 340 species. They constitute a species of birds native to the American continent. They were once killed by the millions in order to decorate European female hats, possibly leading to the extermination of several species.
Summary
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- 1 Food
- 2 Playback
- 3 Morphology
- 4 Flight
- 5 Importance of hummingbirds
- 6 See also
- 7 Sources
Feeding
Hummingbirds feed mainly on flower nectar to obtain the calories that allow them to fly; proteins are obtained from small insects . This diet, rich in energy because it is made from simple sugars, is what enables its energy-intensive flight style. Hummingbirds are especially attracted to bright Red or Orange Flowers .
But occasionally diet includes insects and sap of trees taken from the holes made by woodpeckers. They feed on flowers using their long stretchable tongue or hunt insects on the fly. Although hummingbirds feed mainly on nectar from flowers, they supplement their diet with small insects and spiders that they catch when they visit the flower. It is said that a hummingbird can visit 500 to 3,000 flowers per day. The young are fed with insects as a source of protein since the nectar is deficient in them, so it cannot be their only food.
Reproduction
To arouse the interest of the female, the male performs a dance. After the females have been fertilized, they build a small nest lined inside with spider web , cotton , lichen or moss . Often the nest is built in a low shrub. The female lays two eggs in a two-day period and broods them for 14 to 19 days. The hummingbirds then feed their children for about three to four weeks. The female goes to the nest at this time up to 140 times a day to feed her young.
The reproduction period varies considerably depending on where it is located. During the rutting season the irritability nature is accentuated. Some species of males choose to choose a certain territory in which they receive repeated visits from the females, woo them with a dance and expel any other intruding male. Other species perform ¨leks¨, which consists of identifying the foraging route of a female, by several males and all of them try to woo her through songs and unfurls of wings, the female chooses the male with the best plumage and the better singing.
Many hummingbirds are polygamous and after mating they forget about their parental responsibility. Hummingbirds lay two eggs , and they are very large for their size. The incubation period lasts from 15 to 21 days. The young are born without feathers and with their eyes closed. After 2 or 3 days they appear covered by a greyish down and little by little the feathers of the upper part of the body begin to grow, the young open their eyes 14 days after the eggs hatch. The young are ready for flight at one month of age, but they do not leave the nest until they are completely independent. The mother feeds her young with regurgitated nectar and insects.
Morphology
Hummingbirds are among the smallest birds in existence. The smallest species is the zunzuncito or bee elf hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), which with its beak and tail measures only 5.5 centimeters, exclusive to Cuba . The largest species, the so-called giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas), measures about 25 cm.
Most hummingbirds have very colorful plumage, usually metallic green. The neck of males is frequently bright red, blue, or emerald green. A special feature of hummingbirds is the beak, which almost always diverges from species to species. The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), for example, has a bill almost as long as the body, about 10 cm in length.
Flight
Hummingbirds have many skeletal and muscle adaptations of flight that allow for great flight agility. The muscles make up 25-30% of the body weight, and they have elongated sword-shaped wings that, unlike those of other birds, connect to the body only from the joint of the back.
This adaptation allows the wing to rotate nearly 180 °, allowing the bird to fly not only forward but also straight up and down, sideways, and backward, and hover in front of flowers while feeding on nectar or insects. During sustained still flight, hummingbird wings flap at 55 times per second, 61 times per second when moving backward, and at least 75 times per second when going forward.
Importance of hummingbirds
The life of hummingbirds is closely related to that of certain plants and flowers; In fact, they are of great importance for ecosystems , as they are highly pollinating agents of plants in tropical forests. The flowers are modified so that the hummingbird when visiting the flower hits the stamens and pollen adheres to the hummingbird’s plumage. Hummingbirds are the main pollinators in high and cold areas in the absence of insects and bats; On the other hand, it is worth mentioning the ability of these birds to adapt to these areas.
Hummingbirds are also very important for some export flower producing gardens, as they have succeeded in making hybrids by means of hummingbirds, especially in the Heliconidae plant family . A relationship between hummingbirds and a species of mites that inhabit these flowers has also been investigated, since these small animals take advantage of the moment when the hummingbird visits the flower to climb and be transferred to another flower.