About Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are among the most-loved of all birds. Their bright coloration, quick movements, and incredible ability to hover motionless or even fly backwards makes them fascinating to watch. Their amazing agility comes from their fast wingbeats (40 or more per second!), and a special joint structure that allows them to rotate the wing at the shoulder, changing the angle and letting them get a power stroke in almost any direction. Most species are quite tolerant of humans and easy to attract to feeders, thus they are perfect subjects of study for the backyard birding enthusiast.

More than 50 species of hummingbirds have been recorded in Costa Rica. At least a dozen species visit Monteverde regularly. These range from the large Violet Sabrewing, which is the size of a small sparrow, to the tiny Scintillant Hummingbird that weighs only 2-2.3g -- about the same as a small coin.

Hummingbirds are important pollinators of many trees, shrubs, vines, and epiphytes. When a hummingbird probes a flower for nectar, it gets a small amount of pollen stuck to its bill or elsewhere on its head. Some of this pollen then brushes off at the next flower it visits, pollinating the flower and allowing it to produce seeds. Many species are very adapted to feeding from a specific flower shape. For example, the Green Hermit with its huge decurved bill is especially adept at feeding from flowers with long curved corollas, such as Heliconia. Species with shorter bills would not be able to reach the nectar of these flowers. This type of specialization reduces competition between hummingbirds and also helps increase pollination efficiency -- there is a greater chance that pollen will be transferred to another flower of the same species. Many hummingbirds are very aggressive and territorial and will chase other hummingbirds away from their favorite patch of flowers.

All species supplement their diets with insects and other arthropods. Nectar is an excellent high-energy food, but protein and other nutrients must come from other sources. In order to maintain their incredibly high metabolic rates (heart rate of over 600 beats per minute) hummingbirds consume up to half of their body weight in nectar each day! At night, when they cannot forage, most go into torpor, which is like a mini-hibernation. They allow their body temperatures to fall 17-28 degrees C (30-50 degrees F) below normal levels, thus drastically reducing their energy consumption. Without this mechanism, they would not be able to survive an entire night without eating.

Want to learn more about hummingbirds? Visit www.hummingbirds.net, an excellent site with all sorts of hummingbird information!