Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are stunning creatures, but their future can be bright only if they have plenty of flowers for food and trees for shelter. Unfortunately, human population grows too fast for the hummingbirds' habitats. Once a person knows more about these charming animals, they will find the forests a richer place to protect. Hummingbirds are the smallest and most brilliantly colored birds. Their aerial maneuvers fascinate all.

Hummingbirds are promiscuous animals, and families generally consist of a single mother and two baby chicks. It all starts during mating season, when a male tries to attract a female. He may hover in front of her showing off his gorgeous wings, tail, beak and plumage. If she isn?t interested she just flies away. If he wins her affection, they will sleep together one night. In the morning they?ll fly away in separate directions and probably never meet again.

Males obviously take no part in raising the young. Two white pea-sized eggs are generally laid, several days apart. The hummingbird mother works very hard to care for her young. The two chicks are born naked, blind, and smaller than bumblebees, but they grow quickly. By the time they are three to four days old, their eyes open, and the mother continues feeding them. The duration of nesting period is fourteen to thirty-one days depending on the food available and the strengths of the chicks and the mother. When they are ready for fledging, the chicks may be 4.5 grams while their exhausted mother is down to 2.5 grams after the feat of raising her young.

After a month or so, the hummingbirds leave their nest and master flying quickly and easily. They are continued to be fed because they end up wasting a lot of time mistaking hats, signs, and other bright objects for flowers.

The average life span of a hummer is probably three to five years. The record has been twelve years. There are about three-hundred and twenty different species, and the Bee Hummingbird is the smallest. 8 cm is not only half of the length of my pen, but also the length of the largest hummingbird, the Giant Hummingbird. The beak and tail tend to make up half of their small length. Most hummingbirds have ten tail feathers. These tails come in

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a variety of shapes, and depending on the way the sunlight hits it, these tail feathers may flash red, gold, purple, or black.