Bee HummingBird

inside living things
Movement
Bee rd
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Ace Flyer
T
he world’s smallest bird weighs less than
a U.S. penny. The bee hummingbird tips
the scales at just 2.3 grams (0.08 oz.).
It may be small, but this tiny bird has some amazing
moves. Strong flight muscles account for up to
one-third of the bird’s body weight. The shoulder
joints in the bird’s skeleton allow the wings to turn in
all directions. With wings that beat about 80 times per
second, a bee hummer is able to hover, back up, and
zip around as fast as 48 kilometers (30 mi.) per hour!
You might think flying is easy for such a lightweight bird.
But a bee hummingbird’s body systems work hard to keep
it moving. It spends most of the day eating and digesting
food. Nectar from flowers and insects make up most of
its diet. It may visit as many as 1,500 flowers in a day!
The rapidly beating wings
of a hummingbird make a
humming sound. That’s why
it’s called a humming bird.
The bee hummingbird has a large brain for its size. Its
brain helps the bird remember which flowers have nectar.
Then the brain sends messages to the bird’s muscles
through nerves, and the bird flies to those flowers.
Why do you think male
bee hummingbirds are
more colorful than the
females?
File
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female bee hummingbird
Investigation File
male bee hummingbird
Credits: left: © FLPA/Alamy; top right: © iStockphoto.com/peterspiro;
bottom left: © Pete Oxford/Minden Pictures; bottom right: © FLPA/Superstock
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Live Fast,
Rest Hard
80
In order to keep up such a pace,
a bee hummingbird must eat up to
one-half its body weight each day!
But on cold nights, a hummingbird
may go into a deep sleep called
torpor. In this state, the bird’s
circulation and breathing slow
down, and its body temperature
falls. Torpor helps the hummer
save energy since it is unable
to feed at night.
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80
Wing Flaps per Second
70
Much of a bee hummingbird’s life is on
the fast track. To fly as rapidly as it does,
a hummingbird has a very fast respiration
rate. In fact, it takes about 500 breaths
per minute while flying! The hummingbird’s
fast breathing rate helps it get enough
oxygen to fly.
In relation to its size, the bee hummer’s
heart is large. It can beat up to 1,200
times a minute, or 20 beats per second!
That’s what’s needed to circulate
enough oxygen-rich blood throughout
the bird’s tiny body.
Comparing FLAP SPEED OF BIRD WINGS
60
50
40
27
30
20
14
7
10
0
1
vulture
pigeon mockingbirdchickadeehummingbird
How many more times will a
hummingbird flap its wings in
one minute than a vulture?
Where Bee Hummingbirds Live
Florida
Gulf of
Mexico
Cuba
A bee hummingbird
takes a quick rest.
Investigation File
Inside Living Things } Movement } Bee Hummingbird
Central
Atlantic
Ocean
America
Bee hummingbirds live only on
the island of Cuba, shown in red.
Credits: bottom left: © Kevin Elsby/Alamy; top row, left to right:
© Eric Isselee/123RF; (2): © Oleg Doroshin/123RF; (3,4): © Steve Byland/123RF;
(5): © iStockphoto.com/rappensuncle; bottom right: © Lee Dalton/Alamy
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