Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae)
Known for being the smallest of all birds, the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) weighs only about 1.8 grams and is about 5 cm (2 inches) in length. The male of the species is smaller than the female and it is only found on Isle of Pines and in Cuba where locals call it the zunzún. Unfortunately this pretty little bird is classified as Near Threatened due to diminishing numbers in more recent years. The decrease in Bee Hummingbird populations have been brought about mainly by loss of habitat due to crop farming, timber felling and livestock farming. These forms of human encroachment have negatively affected the subtropical and tropical forests and swamplands that sustain the Bee Hummingbird, causing the bird to be confined to certain suitable habitats.
The male Bee Hummingbird has spectacular colouring. His entire head and throat are an iridescent red-pink and he has elongated lateral plumes. The top of his body is bluish in colour while his underparts are a greyish white. These colours only become evident during breeding season and are shed shortly afterwards. Non-breeding males have blue spots on their wingtips and black tail tips which helps to differentiate them from the females which have white spots on their tail feathers. The female is less spectacularly coloured, having only a blue-green back and greyish underbelly and generally looking somewhat dishevelled.
Despite its diminutive size, the Bee Hummingbird is an amazing creature. In flight it beats its wings as many as 80 times per a second. What’s more, when it is involved in a courtship display a male hummingbirds wings may beat as many as 200 times per a second! In order to pump blood around its tiny little body, the Bee Hummingbirds heart rate is spectacularly fast. In fact, it is the second fastest of all animals. It has less feathers than all other birds and the highest body temperature of all birds and it may eat roughly half its body mass in one day. It also drinks plenty of water – consuming roughly eight times its body mass on a daily basis. The Bee Hummingbird eats mainly nectar and insects and nests in woodlands, shrubbery and gardens.
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