When you hear a bird being described as ‘strong’ or ‘beautiful,’ your mind may conjure up images of a fierce eagle, or a tropical parrot.
This is understandable, but both these birds will find a strong contender in hummingbirds.
We share with you some of the internets best close up hummingbird photos, as well as some interesting facts. Please enjoy:
Green-Crowned Brilliant Hummingbird

Hummingbirds possess a unique type of delicate beauty that is like no other.
Wine-Throated Hummingbird

They are masters at flying manoeuvres. They are the only bird that can hover and fly backwards.
Rufous Hummingbird

Hummingbirds can flap their wings between 50-80 beats per second, making them a literal blur to the human eye.
Costa’s Hummingbird

This means that capturing a clear photo of their wings in flight can be very difficult.
Rufous Hummingbird

They flap their wings in a figure of 8 pattern, this gives them the ability to hover.
Marvelous Spatuletail

When they dive, they can flap their wings up to 200 times per second!
Fiery-throated Hummingbird

This is actually where their name comes from; their wings beat so fast that they make a humming noise.
Rufous Hummingbird

Their metabolism is just as speedy as their wings, and their weight can change drastically over the day as they eat and burn up energy
Violet-Crowned Woodnymph

Because of this, they consume anywhere between half to 8 times of their weight in sugar daily,
Rufous Hummingbird

The average hummingbird feeds 5-8 times per hour, thats a lot of their waking day spent feeding!
Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird

Their hearts can beat over 1200 times per minute!
Anna’s Hummingbird

Fiery-Throated Hummingbird

Wine-Throated Hummingbird

Fiery-Throated Hummingbird

Fiery-Throated Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

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