Paw Prints Factoids: Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

Male ruby-throated hummingbird

If you were to burn up as much energy as a hummingbird does — I mean in proportion to size — you'd burst into flame.
A hummingbird's wings beat 55 times a second when feeding, 200 times a second when courting.
Normal flight speed is about 25 MPH.
Bird experts say hummingbirds don't even need to sip from a feeder laced with saccharin to know it's phony. They know. And fly by.
A hummingbird eats about 50 times a day.
The hummingbird isn't the only bird that can fly backwards. Nope. So can the Oriental sunbird.
A hummingbird's tongue is shaped like a "W."
You never see more than two eggs in a hummingbird's nest.
If you drank the way a hummingbird drinks — in proportion to size you'd knock back about a gallon per gulp.
There are at least 163 species of hummingbird in Ecuador.
In order to hover, a hummingbird moves its wings in a figure eight. The downstroke counters the upstroke.
The Portuguese name for the hummingbird is "beija flor"...that means "kiss the flower."