Hummingbird Facts

About Hummingbird Facts

Give your memory a workout with Hummingbird Facts: 15 multiple-choice questions aimed at mixed difficulty, free to play right in your browser. Discover the tiny marvels that visit our backyard feeders — their speed, their journeys, and the secrets behind their sparkle. Expect to spend about 7 minutes; every question comes with an explanation, so you learn something even when you miss.

A few sample questions

1. 1. What is the smallest bird species in the world?

   Answer: Bee Hummingbird

   The Bee Hummingbird, found only in Cuba, is the smallest bird in the world — some individuals weigh about as much as a dime and measure barely 2 inches long.

2. 2. Besides flying forward, what unique flying ability do hummingbirds have that most other birds lack?

   Answer: Flying backwards

   Thanks to a unique figure-eight motion of their wings, hummingbirds are the only birds able to fly backwards, and they can hover in one spot with ease.

3. 3. About how many hummingbird species are known to exist worldwide?

   Answer: About 360

   Scientists recognize roughly 360 hummingbird species, and the vast majority of them live in the tropical regions of Central and South America.

4. 4. Where are hummingbirds naturally found in the wild?

   Answer: The Americas only

   Hummingbirds are found naturally only in the Americas, from Alaska down to southern Chile — there isn't a single wild hummingbird in Europe, Asia, Africa, or Australia.

5. 5. About how many times per second does a Ruby-throated Hummingbird flap its wings during normal flight?

   Answer: About 50 times

   A Ruby-throated Hummingbird flaps its wings roughly 50 times per second in normal flight, which is what creates the humming sound that gives the bird its name.

Things you'll learn along the way

• ✓A hummingbird's heart can race to more than 1,200 beats per minute during flight, one of the fastest heart rates of any animal on Earth.
• ✓Each night, hummingbirds can enter torpor, a state where their heart rate and body temperature drop dramatically so they can save energy until morning.
• ✓Nectar provides quick energy, but hummingbirds also need protein, so they regularly catch small insects and spiders, especially when raising chicks.