How Well Do You Know Hummingbirds?

Hummingbirds are well-loved by bird watchers and gardeners across the United States.

Did You Know:

Hummingbirds don’t live off of nectar alone? They also eat small insects.

Hummingbirds are attracted to the colors red and orange. These colors remind hummers of potential food sources – especially when viewed from a distance.

Hummingbirds prefer a variety of flowers that have a sugar content between 10-25% such as Allium, Salvia, Hibiscus, Bee Balm, Honeysuckle, Hosta, Morning Glories and more.

If you make your own Hummingbird Nectar ONLY use white granulated sugar- never use honey, powers, food coloring or brown sugar In feeders. These ingredients can cause a feeder to mold. Mold is very dangerous for Hummingbirds. Songbird Essentials Clear or Red Hummingbird Nectar mixes instantly in tap water-no boiling necessary. Songbird Essentials Red Hummingbird Nectar is all natural with no dyes or artificial sweeteners and made with 100% all-natural Sucrose.

Hummingbirds are fantastic fliers! In normal flight the North American hummingbird will flap it’s wings around 53 beats per second on average. Hummingbirds are the only species that can flow both forwards and backwards, upside down and in a hovering position but flying is very demanding on their petite bodies. Hummingbirds only spend about 10% of their time in flight.

Hummingbirds have a very fast metabolism. Sugars consumed are used immediately to fuel the body for the next food hunt. Hummingbirds can starve hours after eating so they must feed all day. They do experience periods of rest with a low metabolic rate.

Hummingbirds do have a long list of predators including (but not limited to) hawks, blue jays, snakes, wasps, bees, frogs, bass, crows and many more. Their most common predators are domesticated cats!

Posted Date: 2018-03-03