However, that is not their only peculiarity: their way of flying, suspended in the air while emitting a quite distinctive hum, also sets them apart.
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How many species of hummingbirds are there?
Hummingbirds belong to the Family Trochilidaewhose members exceed 330 species that have lived since Alaska until Fire land. However, of the more than 330 species of the Family Trochilidae only four are scientifically recognized as Genus Hummingbird.
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The rutilant hummingbird is nectarivorous but also hunts insects and spiders.
The rest belong to other diverse genres (more than 100), although they are commonly called hummingbirds The four species of hummingbirds have been found since Mexico, Central America and to the northern part of the continent South American. These are:
- Rutilated Hummingbird (Colibri coruscans): It is distributed from northern South America to the west. Like all hummingbirds It is essentially nectarivorous (it feeds on nectar), although it adds small insects and spiders as an essential protein supplement to its diet. Two subspecies have been recorded.
- Brown hummingbird (Colibri delphinae): this hummingbird It nests in forests whose average height is between 400 and 1600 meters above sea level, although it descends from this height to feed. It lives in areas of Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia And in the Trinidad Islands. This species is very aggressive against others hummingbirds.
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The brown hummingbird is particularly aggressive.
- Purple-eared Hummingbird (Colibrí serrirostris): this hummingbird inhabits everything South America. The areas inhabited by this species are tropical and subtropical dry forests, savannahs, and degraded forests. Males measure 12.5 cm and weigh 7 g, while females measure 11 cm and weigh 6 g. This species is very colorful, with the plumage of the males being more intense than that of the females.
- Violet-eared hummingbird (Colibri thalassinus): lives in the highlands since Mexico to the Andean zone of Venezuela until Bolivia. This hummingbird It is a migratory bird that moves to USA and Canada. Its habitat consists of fields with bushes and trees that are between 600 and 3000 meters high. They measure between 9.5 and 11 cm, and their weight is 5 to 6 grams. Females are smaller. 5 subspecies have been recorded.
Curiosities of the hummingbird
The hummingbirds They measure 11 to 15 cm, and their weight ranges from 6 to 8.5 grams. Regarding its life cycle, it begins with the laying of 2 tiny white eggs. During the first year, mortality among hummingbirds is high. Especially during the incubation period and the moment of leaving the nest.
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The purple-eared or violet-eared hummingbird is native to South America.
The specimens that survive this period, their life extends for 3 to 4 years, although there are records of specimens whose life has reached 21 years.
The metabolism of hummingbirds and the rest of your Family Trochilidaeis so high that they need to constantly drink flowers and devour tiny insects in order to maintain the 40º temperature in their tiny bodies.
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The violet-eared hummingbird migrates to the north of the American continent.
Their heartbeats reach 1200 per minute, similar to terrestrial shrews. In order to rest for a few hours, they must enter a kind of hibernation that greatly lowers their heart rate and body temperature.