Hummingbirds are some of the most fascinating birds in the world. Their tiny size and lightning fast movements make them a joy to watch. But have you ever wondered what these energetic little birds do all day long? Here we’ll explore the daily lives of hummingbirds and the many activities that keep them busy from dawn to dusk.
The Early Morning
Hummingbirds rise at dawn, often before the sun crests the horizon. After sleeping through the night, they need an early morning boost to get their metabolism going. Here are some of the things hummingbirds do first thing in the morning:
- Drink nectar – Hummingbirds have a very fast metabolism and need frequent energy drinks in the form of nectar. First thing in the morning they’ll visit flowers and feeders to get that critical first sip of nectar to start their day.
- Preen feathers – Hummingbirds spend time each morning carefully preening their feathers with their slender beaks. They are fastidious about their appearance and keeping their feathers in good condition is essential.
- Find a mate – During mating season, male hummingbirds use the dawn hours to attract females. They’ll perform elaborate courtship displays, flying in loops and dives to show off their health and agility.
- Get territorial – Hummingbirds are extremely territorial and will defend favorite feeding patches from intruders. Mornings are when battles over territory often break out between competing males.
Mid Morning Activities
Once they’ve fueled up in the early morning, hummingbirds have more energy to go about their busy mid-morning routines:
- Feed on nectar – Hummingbirds feed every 10-15 minutes during the day. They’ll visit hundreds or even thousands of flowers per day searching for nectar. Favorite mid-morning feeding spots include Columbia lilies, fuchsias, and coral bean plants.
- Hunt insects – Up to half of a hummingbird’s diet may consist of small insects like gnats, fruit flies, spiders, and aphids. The mid-morning hours are prime time for snatching bugs out of the air and gleaning them from leaves and bark.
- Nest building – Female hummingbirds do most of the nest construction work, gathering materials like twigs, moss, and lichen and weaving together a tiny cup-shaped nest in which to lay their eggs. This work occupies much of the mid-morning while the weather is still cool.
- Take a bath – Hummingbirds will splash in water sources like rain gutters, fountains, or irrigation sprinklers for a quick morning bath to clean their feathers.
Afternoon Routine
The afternoon brings continued feeding, breeding displays, and rest:
- Feed on nectar – With their supercharged metabolism, hummingbirds need to refuel regularly all day long. They’ll visit the same favorite flowers and feeders multiple times in the afternoon.
- Perform courtship displays – Males continue their diving displays, chasing females and showing off their colors and agility when the light is best in the afternoon.
- Take a break – Higher temperatures in the afternoon means it’s time for hummingbirds to rest in shady spots. They’ll perch out of the sun and take power naps to conserve their energy.
- Defend territory – Afternoon is prime time for battles between competing males over feeding areas. Aerial chases and aggressive displays happen during these peak activity hours.
Evening Winding Down
As the light fades, hummingbird activity slows down, although they still have several important pre-darkness tasks:
- Feed on nectar – Hummingbirds need an energy boost before nightfall so will have a last snacking session at flowers, feeders, and favored nectar plants.
- Groom – The last preening and scratching session of the day happens at dusk so hummingbirds look their best for potential mates the next morning.
- Find a sleeping perch – Hummingbirds will select a sheltered nighttime perch high up in a tree away from nighttime predators. They favor horizontal branches hidden among dense foliage.
- Go into torpor – To conserve energy overnight, hummingbirds go into a deep sleep state called torpor where their metabolic rate slows down and body temperature drops dramatically.
Migration
One of the most fascinating aspects of hummingbird behavior is their annual migration. Here are some key facts about hummingbird migration and what they do during these epic seasonal journeys:
- Fly non-stop 500+ miles – Ruby-throated hummingbirds fly non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico, a 500 mile journey, during both their northward spring migration and southward fall migration.
- Travel by night – Hummingbirds migrate under cover of darkness when air conditions are calmer and predators are less active.
- Double their weight – Hummingbirds double their body weight before migrating by building up extra fat stores to power their journey.
- Use the earth’s magnetic fields – Scientists believe hummingbirds use the earth’s magnetic fields to navigate during migration the same way sea turtles do.
- Fly as high as 14,000 feet – Hummingbirds will fly remarkably high during migration to take advantage of favorable winds and avoid obstacles.
Breeding
The breeding season is an exceptionally busy time in the hummingbird world. Here’s an overview of hummingbird reproduction and parenting:
- Males attract females – Male hummingbirds perform elaborate courtship rituals to attract mates, flying in looping patterns and flashing their bright colors.
- Females build nest – Once mated, the female hummingbird will construct a tiny cup-shaped nest out of plant down, spider webs, and lichen to house her eggs.
- Lay 2 eggs – The female hummingbird will lay a small clutch of just 2 pea-sized eggs in her nest, usually on consecutive days.
- Incubate eggs – The female hummingbird will incubate her 2 eggs for 14-22 days until they hatch, leaving the nest only briefly to eat.
- Feed hatchlings – Once hatched, the tiny hummingbird chicks are fed regurgitated nectar and insects by their mother every 20 minutes from dawn to dusk.
- Fledge nest – After about 3 weeks, the hummingbird chicks are ready to fledge (fly) from the nest. They will continue begging their mother for care.
Territory Defense
Hummingbirds are fiercely territorial and will defend their feeding areas aggressively. Here’s how hummingbirds protect their turf:
- Mark territory – Male hummingbirds will sing, dive, and display at boundaries to proclaim their territory.
- Get aggressive – They’ll confront intruders by making quick diving charges and attacking with their needle-like beaks and claws.
- Guard resources – Flowers, nectar feeders, nest sites, and prime perches are all resources they’ll fight for.
- Remember rivals – Hummingbirds can recognize rivals and will target their attacks at specific persistent intruders.
- Don’t share – Hummingbirds generally won’t tolerate others in their territory aside from brief periods during migration when they may temporarily gather peaceably.
Interactions with Other Species
Hummingbirds have many interesting relationships and interactions with other bird and animal species, including:
- Pollination – Hummingbirds play a key role in plant pollination as they visit thousands of flowers. It’s estimated they may pollinate up to 1,250 species along their migration route, aiding plant reproduction.
- Insect hunting – Hummingbirds help control insects like mosquitoes, gnats and fruit flies by preying on them, consuming as many as 1,000 per day.
- Nectar robbing – Carpenter bees, orioles, and other birds will aggressively steal nectar from flowers pollinated by hummingbirds through slits in the flower.
- Predators -Dragonflies, praying mantises, snakes, and hawks will prey on hummingbirds. Feline predators like house cats also kill millions each year.
- Nest parasites – Bees and wasps will parasitize hummingbird nests and lay their eggs in them at the expense of the hummingbird’s eggs and hatchlings.
Physical Adaptations
Hummingbirds have many specialized anatomical and physiological adaptations that enable their unique lifestyle, including:
- Winged aerodynamics – Their wings beat 15-80 times per second enabling precise flight control including midair stops, backwards flight, and near-stationary hovering.
- Lightweight – Weighing only 2-20 grams, their bones are hollow, their feet are tiny, and they have no sense of smell to minimize weight.
- Needle-like bill – Their narrow bills are an perfect tool for sipping nectar from tubular flowers.
- Hinged feet – Hummingbirds can rotate their feet 180 degrees allowing them to perch upside down efficiently.
- Splendid colors – Males have iridescent throat feathers used to attract mates with a “look at me” display when the feathers catch the light.
- Swift metabolism – At rest their hearts beat 500 times per minute with a breathing rate of 250 breaths per minute to power their bodies.
- High efficiency kidneys – Their kidneys are specialized to excrete large amounts of nitrogen waste so they stay hydrated on a liquid nectar diet.
- Torpor ability – They can reduce their metabolism by 95% to conserve energy, allowing them to survive cold nights.
Threats and Survival
Despite their diminutive size, hummingbirds face many challenges to their survival, including:
- Habitat loss – Logging, agriculture, development and gardens with non-native plants reduce available food and nesting habitats for hummingbirds.
- Pesticides – Chemical pollution is linked to reduced hummingbird breeding success and higher mortality.
- Climate change – Flower blooming seasons are shifting disrupting timing of migration and food availability for some hummingbirds.
- Predators – Domestic cats kill hundreds of millions of hummingbirds in the U.S. annually. Hawks, roadrunners and snakes also prey on hummingbirds.
- Collisions – Hummingbirds face increasing collisions with buildings, towers, wires, and vehicles as human infrastructure expands.
- Disease – Protozoan diseases spread by insects are a threat, demonstrated by declining Ruby-throated Hummingbird numbers.
Focusing on providing native flowering plants, eliminating pesticide use, keeping cats indoors, and reducing collisions through the use of stickers, netting, and reduced lighting can all help hummingbird conservation.
History and Culture
Hummingbirds have played an important role in many cultures throughout history:
- Aztec legend – Aztecs believed dead warriors were reincarnated as hummingbirds and the birds were symbols of vigor and energy.
- Americas exploration – Specimens of dead hummingbirds were highly prized curios by European explorers in the Americas in the 1500s and 1600s.
- Fashion trends – The brilliant feathers of hummingbirds were used to adorn European gowns and hats in the 1800s putting immense hunting pressure on some species.
- Early studies – Pioneering scientists including Darwin studied hummingbird anatomy and behavior laying the foundations for much of what we know about their physiology today.
- Photography subjects – High speed photography development went hand in hand with efforts to capture the blur of hummingbird wings starting in the late 1800s.
- Backyard birding – Hummingbird feeders and gardening for hummingbirds has spurred public interest leading to increased enthusiasm for observing and studying them.
Conclusion
Hummingbirds are captivating creatures that have fascinated people for centuries. As we’ve explored here, they live very active, energetic lives filled with almost non-stop motion. Their specialized adaptations allow them to achieve feats like migrating thousands of miles or beating their wings over fifty times per second. While threats exist from habitat loss to climate change, learning more about these remarkable birds helps us find ways to protect them so we can continue to enjoy the aerial antics of hummingbirds for generations to come.
