Wildlife Feature | Allen's Hummingbird

Описание: Along the pacific coastal forests and abundant in Southern California, Allen’s Hummingbirds can be found swiftly zipping from flower to flower.

Females and immatures are bronze-green above with paler coppery sides. Males have a coppery tail, and a belly that contrasts with their bronze green back and deep reddish orange throat. Hummingbirds are among the smallest birds, measuring 3-3.5 inches in length.

Aggressive and fiercely territorial, male hummingbirds chase away any other males from their territory. If their supply of their favorite treat, nectar, depletes too quickly they’ll potentially have to fly a long way to find their next supply.

Hummingbirds feed frequently to keep up with their high rate of metabolism. They quickly use their forked tongue to lap up the favorite sweet, sugary liquid. Tiny hairs called lamellae help collect the nectar as the bird licks up to 17 times per second.

A hummingbird feeder near your home filled with properly prepared sugary water will also help keep hummingbirds well fed. They’ll enjoy a good meal just as much as you’ll enjoy watching them flutter about.

A hummingbird’s brain is 4.2% of their body weight and has the largest proportion in the bird kingdom. A larger brain pays off as they’re able to remember every flower they’ve been to, how long it will take for a flower to refill, and the quality of its nectar so it can feed more efficiently.

Their wings will beat in a figure-eight pattern, between 10 and 80 times per second during direct flight. Not only are they one of the only vertebrates able to hover in place, they can also fly up, down, sideways and backwards.

They are so fast, they can fly an average of 25-30 miles per hour and are able to dive up to 60 miles per hour. If you think that’s fast, their tiny heart can beat as fast as 1,260 beats per minute!

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Shot on a Fujifilm X-T3 using the XF 100-400mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter.