Interesting facts about hummingbirds

There are more than 325 hummingbird species in the world. Even though all birds are interesting and curious, these birds have peculiar customs and habits. Only eight species are living in United States. First, these birds can not walk or jump. Their feet have limited use. Their feet are smaller than usual because the evolved it to lose weight in order to be more efficient when they are flying. Indeed, a hummingbird weigh can be as low as 3 grams. This evolution have developed their pectoral muscles. Almost 25-30% of their weight is in this zone. They can reach up to 60 miles per hour when they are flying. Moreover, their eggs are the smallest ones of all birds. While these birds have many small characteristics, they can flap their wings between 50 and 200 flaps per second. In fact, their name comes from the characteristic hum made by their wings.  This speed is produced for their eating habits and they have a fast metabolisms. These amazing birds' heart rates is more than 1,200 beats per minute. However, because they are so small, they have to fight against many predators. Dragonflies, praying mantis, spider's webs, frogs, and  thistles are some of their greatest dangers.

Sources: Onekind.org, birding.about.com, en.wikipedia.org