Hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are the tiniest, fastest species of bird known. I would be pretty fast if I lived off of sugary nectar alone too! These small creatures will use their long beaks to suck all the nectar out of flowers, but here is the catch: like bees, they know how to purify their nectar, getting 90% of the sugar.

With the exception of insects, hummingbirds can fly the highest of any creature due to their rapid wing strokes. They have been known to have a heart rate of over 1000 beats per minute, as once recorded on a blue throated hummingbird.

These tiny birds have an incredibly long lifespan for their size. Though many die in their first year, mainly during fledging ( just leaving the nest ) when they are still young and learning how to fly. Lucky ones live 3-5 years before death. The oldest hummingbird ever recorded was 12 years old when she died.