Birds · Apodiformes · Trochilidae

Bee Hummingbird

Mellisuga helenae

Near Threatened

It could become endangered in the near future if current threats go unchecked. See full glossary

The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world: it weighs some two grams, less than a coin, and measures barely five centimetres including bill and tail. It is endemic to Cuba. The male sports an intensely iridescent pink gorget during the breeding season. Its nest is the size of a thimble and its eggs the size of a coffee bean. It visits more than fifteen hundred flowers a day.

Weight

2 g – 3 g

Size

5 cm – 6 cm

Lifespan

7 years

Diet

Nectarivore

Feeds mainly on flower nectar.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Moderate

RainforestTemperate forestIslandsNectarivore Diurnal Solitary Near Threatened Bird Rainforest Temperate forest Islands

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Fun facts

GeneralThe smallest bird in the world: 6 cm and 2 g, less than a coin.
It is the smallest bird on the planet: it weighs some two grams, less than a one-cent coin, and there are butterflies and beetles larger than it.
Its heart beats more than twelve hundred times a minute in flight and its wings beat eighty times a second, producing the humming from which its onomatopoeic Cuban name is taken.
Every night it enters torpor: it lowers its body temperature and metabolism almost to a standstill, because it could not survive the night at the energy cost of its daytime rate.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Woodland, coastal scrub, gardens and flowering areas throughout Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 17 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellisuga_helenae