The "Humming" Hummingbirds

Hello everybody! Sorry I'm posting a day late, but I've had a really hectic week and haven't had time to write much for this website for this week. So this week, Joy wrote today's article and, since I have no updates on any upcoming movies or my stop-motion series called Planet of the Dinosaurs, we'll just start straight off with Joy's article:

Today, I'd like to talk about hummingbirds, the small bird whose egg is the size of a jellybean. It has a a straw-like beak to reach the nectar inside of flowers. However these birds can be a bit particular in what type of flower they drink out of and if it has just the right amount of sugar in it. Most hummingbirds go for red, orange, and bright pink flowers. Let's learn more about hummingbirds!

This is a female black-chinned hummingbird. Did you know hummingbirds get their names from the "humming-like" sound that their wings make?

The hummingbird's wings can beat from 12-100 times a second! That is pretty fast. To get the water, such as rain, off their back, the bird shakes itself off like a dog does. Funny huh? It's heartbeat is fast too - up to 1,260 per minute! Hummingbirds are mostly found in North and South America. They migrate south and land in Mexico, Central America, and Florida.

This is a male ruby-throated hummingbird. The rich colors of hummingbirds don't come from pigment, but actually get their colors from iridescence.

Their nest can be as small as a walnut. Most hummingbird nests are bound together by spider silk. The male doesn't take any part in the nest building. Two eggs are laid in the nest and they hatch around 14-26 days. The mother bird feeds her babies the same way as penguins. They take the food in their beak and eventually regurgitate it for the young to eat (I don't think I'd like to be a baby bird). The hummingbird's wings have a prism effect and therefore the color can change from an odd-looking bird with white downy feathers, to an adult "hummer" with vibrant red and green, such as the ruby-throated hummingbird above. That effect comes from the sunlight.

Hummingbirds can make their tiny nests on really thin objects such as this cactus "leaf".

People enjoy watching these birds as they visit flowers from flower. Humans have set up hummingbird feeders. Here's some tips on how to lure hummingbirds to your bird feeder: 

1. Have sugar water in the feeder
2. Boil it a little 
3. Don't forget to add red dye to it because they like red flowers and it will attract the hummingbirds! 

These birds are just a few of many wondrous creatures. Just look around and you will find yourself in another world!

Thanks for coming today, next week, I should have time to write the article I intended for this week. See you then!

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