Bee Hummingbird … hummingbird resembles a bee
The Bee Hummingbird (sometimes called the bumble bee hummingbird)
(Mellisuga helenae) is a specie of hummingbird, and is the smallest bird in the world (with the male bee hummingbird being smaller than the female of the species).
It can be found in Cuba (where it is called the zunzún) and the Isle of Pines.
It is about 5cm long and is about the size of a bee. Its mass is approximately 1.8 grams, which is lighter than a Canadian or U.S. penny just slightly heavier than a paper clip.
Hummingbird bee description:
The male Bee hummingbird has the pileum and throat fiery red, the iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, rest of upperparts bluish, rest of underparts mostly greyish white. It has a rounded tail that is green with a rufous base.
Females are bluish green above with a pale gray or whitish underside. The tips of their tail feathers have white spots.
A breeding male Bee hummingbird has a pink to red head, chin, and throat. A non-breeding male bee hummingbird looks like a female, except that their wingtips have blue spots.
A Bee Hummingbird is more apt to be mistaken for a bee than a bird because of the size, the bird is not a mimic.
| Conservation status of Bumble bee hummingbird:Near threatened | ||||||||||||||
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| Bee hummingbirds Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Mellisuga helenae (Lembeye, 1850) |
male Bee Hummingbird (bumble bee hummingbird) photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dermoidhome/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Bee Hummingbird picture |bumble bee hummingbird photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38485387@N02/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
more bumble bee hummingbird photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dermoidhome/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
female bumble bee hummingbird
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dermoidhome/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
click the play button below to watch a video of a Cuban Emerald and a Bee Hummingbird
Bee Hummingbird Facts
The bee hummingbird is the world’s smallest warm-blooded vertebrate.
When flying, the wings of the bee hummingbird beat 80 times per second, and when mating, up to 200 times per second.
The heart rate of the Bee hummingbird is the second fastest of all animals.
The Bee hummingbird also has the fewest feathers of all birds.
More Bee Hummingbird Facts:
The body temperature of the bumble bee hummingbird is 40 °C (104 °F), the highest of all birds.
At night, the body temperature of the bumble bee hummingbird drops down 19 °C (66 °F) to save energy.
Bee hummingbirds eat half their total body mass and drink 8 times their total body mass in water each day.
Bee hummingbird habitat
The bee hummingbird habitat can be found in woodland, shrubbery, and gardens in Cuba and the Isle of Pines and has also been spotted in Jamaica and Haiti.
A Bee hummingbird nest is only 3 cm across. The diet of the Bee hummingbird consists mainly of nectar and insects.
Click on the link Bee hummingbird for more Bee hummingbird pictures.
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