A Little Bird with Courage- Humming Bird

When a Humming Bird flies past you, you will just hear the buzz of wings, since they fly so fast : and then you will wonder who was it! A hummingbird is not afraid to come near you. I have seen them close to me specially when I am watering the plants.

Theorized to have evolved about 50 million years ago, in the mountains of South America due to the climate being non-conducive to insects and butterflies for pollination, Possibly the first interaction between the Humming bird and the flower was not to get nectar, but to get insects that were attracted to the nectar. Humming birds are Territorial in nature. No wonder, since there are only so many flowers in a certain area ! Not only this, lot of other nectar seeking insects including some bees may be color blind, but our these feathery friends are not. The bright colors of the flowers "speak" to them!

Humming birds' wings do not fold when moving, but rotate at shoulder giving it strength to make movement in any direction. Their bills are long that house a long tongue that with the help of long bill can reach the end of the flower to get nectar. Swordbill, a type of hummingbird has bill that is longer than its body and is adapted to get nectar from flowers like Angel's Trumpet or Passion flower whose nectar can be had only due by long bills.

The heart of your flying friend beats at a rate of 40 beats/min. while sleeping, 400 when awake and 1200 beats/min when flying! Just thinking of it can give one heart attack! The blood races from heart to the tip of the wings , muscles and all and back (when flying) within a second!

Humming birds can turn their colors off and on, on demand. One may wonder that how come these winged wonders are so beautifully colored! They flash their colors to warn others to stay away from their territory. It is not the feathers but the microscopic air bubbles layered in their feathers that mix the light by reflection, refraction to show off themselves almost as shiny as prized jewels.

They have modified their bodies to lower the body and conserve energy, so as not to do heavy lifting while trying to get sipping nectar from their adapted long tongue. Their legs have been reduced in size to the extent that they can only perch and not hop or walk.

If you are reading this blog, I assume that you already know the basic fact about our sole backward flier among birds! and  Yes! It does take tremendous amount of energy just to get nectar. So much so, that they have to refuel themselves every 15 minutes on the delicious nectar. Though they do eat flies to provide the ever so necessary protein in their diet, majority of the food is up made of nectar. You can easily buy the concentrate at store but the best is as I was told by one saleslady is to make it myself.
Recipe for Humming Bird Nectar is easy:
4 cups of clean water
1 cup of sugar
1 cup (tightly packed) or two handfuls of red (preferably) flower petals, like the roses or such
method: Bring water to boil and add sugar and flower petals. Boil it covered for about 15-20 minutes or till the petals lose their color.
Cool and strain. Now you can fill your humming bird feeder with this homemade nectar that is not only delicious but healthy for them as well, since it does not have any artificial colors in it.

Humming birds are fun to watch. Do your work to make sure that you are visited by them. You are welcome to share your hummingbird photos in the comments below.