Discover nature this week with Missouri Hummingbirds. A “glittering fragment of the rainbow” is how an early American naturalist described the hummingbird. He must have been impressed with its shimmering green plumage and crimson throat feathers.
Also impressive are the size and speed of hummingbirds. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are by far our smallest bird. They are a mere three inches long and weigh as little as one dime. Missouri has some migrant hummingbirds, but the ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that breeds here.
The birds use their small size and hovering flight to suck nectar from flowers. They can fly backwards, sideways and, in battles with other hummingbirds, even upside down. Their tiny wings beat more than 50 times per second. During mating displays, wing beats can rise to 200 beats per second!
Because of their small size, hummingbirds can end up providing food for many predators that eat insects, including spiders, praying mantises, birds, and frogs. During nesting, insects, a rich source of protein, are fed to the growing young. Sometimes these insects are stolen from spider webs.
Hummingbirds migrate to the Midwest in April and can be with us until October. You can attract them to your backyard by using special feeders and planting their favorite red or orange tubular flowers.
More information about Missouri’s hummingbirds can be found online at MissouriConservation.org.
