Fancy That Friday – Fine Feathered Friends

I recently posted about the opening of our back porch hummingbird café. Over the holiday weekend (and our respective trip out-of-town), we lost some of our clientele. However, word of beak is beginning to get around and our feeder is once again a neighborhood hot lukewarm spot.

So in honor of our most petite diners, here are some hummingbird facts that I hope you’ll fancy:

• Hummingbirds can flap their wings 15 to 80 times per second, depending on their size.

• Hummingbirds alone are able to fly deliberately backwards or vertically, and to maintain position for drinking from flower blossoms.

• Hummingbirds are named for the characteristic hum made by their wings.

• The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the smallest bird in the world, weighing 1.8 g.

• While in flight, hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of all animals (except insects), a necessity in order to support the rapid beating of their wings.

• A hummingbird’s heartbeat can reach as high as 1260 beats per minute (Blue-throated hummingbird).

• At any given moment, hummingbirds are only hours away from starving.

• At night (or when food is not readily available), hummingbirds enter a hibernation-like state (topor) during which time their heartrate drops to 50-180 beats per minute, reducing their need for food.

And now, credit where credit is due.