- Bee hummingbirds are about 2 1/4 inches in length and weigh 0.07 ounces. They are a homeothermic vertebrate (warm-blooded). Their body temperature is about 104 degrees. Bee hummingbirds have the second-fastest heart rate of all animals. They are likely to be mistaken for bees because of their size. Their wings beat 80 times per minute normally and as much as 200 times per minute when courting.
- A female bee hummingbird collects nectar.
Females are a blue-green with gray feathers on their undersides. Their outer tail feathers have white spots. Female bee hummingbirds are larger than males. - When the birds are not courting, bright blue iridescent plumes stand out on the wings.
Breeding males have red feathers on their pileum (top of their head) and throat. The underside of the male body is gray-white. Male bee hummingbirds have long, iridescent blue plumes. Males that are not breeding look similar to females except for the blue spots on their wing tips. - Female bee hummingbirds lay two eggs the size of an adult's smallest fingernail. Their nests are 3 centimeters in diameter.
- To maintain their high energy requirement, bee hummingbirds will eat half their total body mass and drink eight times their body mass every day. Their diet is mainly small insects and nectar.
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