The hummingbird

📖 In short

The hummingbird is one of the smallest birds in the world, named for the humming sound its wings make because they move so fast, like a bee. It lives in the Americas, where there are flowers full of the sweet nectar it loves.

🤩 Did you know?

The smallest hummingbird is only about 5 centimeters long, about the size of a big bee!
A hummingbird's heart beats more than 1000 times a minute.
More than 300 kinds of hummingbirds are known.
A hummingbird can flap its wings about 50 times a second.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Flying champion

The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards! It can also hover in the air in front of a flower like a tiny helicopter.

🔍 A beak like a straw

A hummingbird has a long thin beak and a long tongue that it dips into flowers to sip the sweet nectar. Moving from flower to flower, it carries pollen and helps the flowers make seeds.

💡 A big eater

A hummingbird needs lots of energy to fly so fast, so it visits hundreds of flowers every day. At night its body slows right down, like a short hibernation, to save energy.