Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia      Phylum: Chordata      Class: Aves (birds)                                                        Order: Apodiformes      Family: Trochilidae      Genus: Archilochus

Species: 328

Life Span: 6-12 years

Habitat: desserts, mountains, plains, and tropical rainforests.
     Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world but are the largest group of birds with 328 species. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The smallest species is the bee hummingbird (2 inches, Cuba) and the largest species is the giant hummingbird (8.6 inches, South America). Males are brightly colored, mostly green and blue colors, which helps them to attract females. Females are either brown or pale greenish in color which helps them blend in with their nest. Beaks also vary in size and shape depending on species allowing them to feed on specific flowers.

Diet: Because a majority of their diets consist of nectar (90%), hummingbirds are called nectivores. Occasionally they enjoy an insect.

Special Abilities: Hummingbirds are known as helicopter birds since they are the only birds that can fly up, down, sideways, backwards, and upside down. Their wings can flap 20 – 200 beats per second and move in a figure eight motion.

Predators: Hummingbirds have been known to be caught in spiderwebs and thistles and preyed on by dragonflies, frogs, the praying mantis, and other birds including roadrunners and orioles. To protect themselves and their territory, they make high pitched warning sounds and dive bomb their intruders.

Conservation: In addition to their natural predators, hummingbirds are also threatened by a loss of their natural habitat. We can help them by planting native plants and hummingbird friendly flowers and placing feeders in our yards. Also, since the use of pesticides can reduce or eliminate the insects they feed on and even poison the hummingbirds, we should minimize or eliminate their use in our gardens.

     Adults can also help hummingbirds by drinking shade grown coffee. More than half of hummingbird species live in the tropics. Including backyard species which migrate to the tropics where coffee is grown. Usually, all plants and trees are cleared for coffee plants reducing the hummingbirds habitat. Shaded coffee farms do not cut down the plants and trees and, when grown in the shade, the coffee plants, trees, and plants that grow on the trees all provide food for the hummingbirds.

                                                                             Activities

Plant a Hummingbird Garden
One way you can attract hummingbirds to your garden is to plant some hummingbird flowers. Including:
● Bee balm
● Cardinal flower
● Trumpet creeper
● Coral honeysuckle
● Columbine
● Mexican sage
You can check your local plant nursery for these flowers or ask about native plants that attract hummingbirds.

Homemade Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

Ingredients
● Sugar
● Water

Supplies
● Hummingbird feeder
● Measuring Cups

Directions
● Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts boiled water (example, 1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water)
●Fill the hummingbird feeder with sugar water and hang it outside. If you hang it by a window, make sure it is visible to the birds by hanging decals, stickers, sun catchers, or other objects on the outside of the window. Window collisions are a major cause of death of hummingbirds.
● Store any extra nectar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
● Change and clean the feeder at least every other day. Otherwise, fungus will start to form in the standing water causing the hummingbirds to develop tongue rot.

Color a Page
Bring out your creative side and color a picture of a hummingbird. I found a neat website that has a few pages you can print out for free.
http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/birds/hummingbirds

Draw a Hummingbird
Draw a hummingbird from memory or find a picture of a hummingbird and use it as your model

Birdwatching
Sit quietly in the garden and watch out for a hummingbird. Bring binoculars so you can get a closer look from far away. And a camera if you want to take pictures. Also, a notebook in case you want to write notes about what you observe. You can use your own photos to draw a hummingbird later.