Why Hummingbirds Are Amazing

I love hummingbirds, and you should too. I will be presenting five reasons why I believe hummingbirds are one of the coolest animals on this planet.

Hummingbirds have very special shoulder joints that enable their wings to flap in a figure-eight pattern. This unique ability allows hummingbirds to generate lift from their wings during their upstroke and downstroke - distinct from any other bird type.

Hummingbirds also don't have a preference for direction of flight. To put this in perspective: we humans generally prefer moving forwards or backwards, and our biology is designed to favor this movement. Hummingbirds don't have this preference; they are largely prey birds, and with wings that are optimized for hovering, they must move in any direction in the case of an immediate threat or opportunity to eat.

Specifically, the gorget (iridescent throat) feathers of the male hummingbirds are known to exhibit simultaneous iridescence and hydrophobicity, this phenomenon only observed among hummingbirds, African starlings, and trogons. It is incredibly rare since hydrophobicity and iridescence have conflicting attributes: surface area exposure.

Feathers come with a wide variety of microstructures, but they generally are oriented in a way to maximize hydrophobicity. This is due to water's adhesiveness; it tends to bind to every surface, and soaked feathers can prove detrimental to a bird's flying capabilities and heat regulation. This is why feathers, especially among aquatic species, tend to have microstructures that minimize surface area exposure, but not so small such that it would lose structural integrity.

Iridescent feathers, on the other hand, tend to do the exact opposite, maximizing surface area exposure in a way to defract more light. Brighter iridescence serves a communicative purpose, with brighter feathers signaling a healthier mate. From my observation, many species may place these iridescent feathers in very visible areas, such as with male mallards having theirs on their head or as secondary wing feathers, where better communication may outweigh the cost of worse heat regulation.

So, how do hummingbirds manage to have simultaneous hydrophobicity and iridescence? I am currently researching this phenomenon through my SuperUROP, found here.

Maintaining flight for hummingbirds is incredibly energy intensive, as they must maintain a heart rate of 500 beats per minute. Their metabolism demands them to drink 4-5 times their weight in nectar each day. A hummingbird's metabolism is 77 times faster than ours. Just imagine having to eat 150,000 calories per day! This is why hummingbirds are incredibly territorial of food sources, aggressively fighting any bird who nears their spot. Some have even been known to fight hawks! Additionally, hummingbirds must enter a state of torpor each night, where their metabolism slows so much that their heart rate dips to below 50 beats per minute, just so they don't starve in their sleep

You may also be wondering: how do hummingbirds maintain muscle mass? They actually use nectar as fuel for hunting insects, which is their main source of protein.

If you notice many hummingbirds frequenting the outside of your living area, something you can do to benefit them is set up some good quality hummingbird feeders with a mixture of 1 part sugar and 4 parts water, and make sure to clean the feeders daily; otherwise, they could become a cesspool of disease propogation. However, if you can, it is better to plant and maintain native plants known to benefit hummingbirds. This will benefit the ecosystem more and will likely be less maintenance. Hummingbirds have very strong navigational memories to keep track of feeding sources during their long migrations, so they will remember your kind deed forever :).

Hummingbirds beat their wings, on average, 50 times per second. For comparison: pigeons beat theirs 8 times per second, while laysan albatrosses can fly for days without flapping their wings at all.

Because of this, the sound you hear from hummingbirds is a frequency at around 50 Hz, or about a G1 note. As you can probably tell, their name comes from the low hum their flight emits.

With an average length of 3-5 inches and weight between 2-20 grams, hummingbirds pack much attitude (and sometimes aggression) in small packages.

I like reminding myself that all birds are the only living descendents of dinosaurs, and specifically, theropods. If this sounds familiar: Tyrannosaurus rexes were theropods! Imagine the teeny tiny hummingbird not too distantly related to the mighty T. rex!

Known as the Ts'unu'um among Mayans, hummingbirds have long been revered for their beauty and grace. I hope that I enlightened you on the some of the amazing aspects of hummingbirds and that you gained a new appreciation for them.