The Bee Hummingbird, found only in Cuba, is the smallest bird in the world. An absolute miniature, even among hummingbirds, it measures only two and a quarter inches long. Often mistaken for bees, they weigh less than a dime. The female builds a nest barely an inch across, and lays eggs about the size of a coffee bean.
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BirdNote®
Sizing Up the World’s Smallest Bird
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[The AfroCuban Allstars - “Distinto Diferente”]
Would you like to see the world’s smallest bird? Then you’ll need to travel to Cuba.
Once on the island, your best bet for tracking down the tiny wonder is to visit a forest edge hung heavily with vines and bromeliads. There, hovering at the flowers — if you squint hard enough — you’ll find the Bee Hummingbird.
(https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/121909)
The Bee Hummingbird, which is found only in Cuba, is an absolute miniature, even among hummingbirds. It measures a mere two and a quarter inches long. Bee Hummingbirds are often mistaken for bees. They weigh less than two grams — less than a dime. That’s half the weight of our backyard hummers, like the Ruby-throated or Rufous. The female builds a nest barely an inch across. Her eggs are about the size of a coffee bean.
(https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/121909)
In flight, the Bee Hummingbird’s tiny wings beat 80 times a second. And during a courtship flight, they beat up to 200 times per second! The male’s entire head and throat shine in fiery pinkish-red, and blazing red feathers point like spikes down the sides of the breast.
A sight to behold!
Head over to BirdNote’s website for photos, videos and more fun facts about the birds you heard today. Plus, find links to lots of scientific resources and a whole section for teachers, too. Start at BirdNote Dot Org.
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. 121909 recorded by Gregory F Budney.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
© 2017 Tune In to Nature.org September 2018/2019/2020 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# BEEH-01-2017-09-21 BEEH-01
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
