Have you ever heard the sound of a hummingbird? They make a buzzing noise when they fly. They make this noise because they beat their wings so fast.
They fly in a unique way. They move their wings so fast that they can hover in the middle of the air, like a helicopter. Sometimes they hover upside down. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.
Hummingbirds are small.
The bee hummingbird, which is a type of hummingbirds, is the smallest bird in the world. It is just a little bit bigger than a bee. Bee hummingbirds build tiny nests.
Hummingbirds move fast. It takes lots of energy to move as fast as they do. This means they need to eat a lot of food. They have to store enough food energy to survive through the night.
Their favourite food is nectar, a sweet liquid found in some flowers.
Hummingbirds don't use their long beaks for drinking nectar, they use their tongues. Their long tongues work like little pumps.
They visit hundreds of flowers daily. Hummingbirds help flowers too.
They get pollen on their heads when they feed. Flowers use pollen to make seeds.
Hummingbirds help pollen get from one flower to the next. This helps flowers make more seeds.
More seeds means more flowers. More flowers means more food for hummingbirds.
Isn't it nice how that works out?