nest made of cobwebs, plant fibres, mosses or lichens, which is placed on branches, forked twigs or attached to large leaves. The 1 to 2 white eggs are usually incubated for 16 to 19 days before the chicks hatch. After hatching, the chicks are fed many times a day for 3 to 4 weeks.
Hummingbirds mainly consume nectar – very energy-rich food – from flowers. They search for the nectar by visiting large, brightly coloured flowers. Red seems to be the preferred colour due to the spectral sensitivity of the hummingbirds’ eyes. The nectar is gathered with an extremely extendable bifurcated tongue which is flicked 3 to 13 times per second. Hummingbirds feed on insects as well but to a much lesser extent. The shape of the hummingbirds’ bills are as various as the flowers of their food plants – you can find bills that are short and pointed or long and curved – all being perfectly adapted to the shape of the flower they specialize in. Hummingbirds have to feed on nectar many times a day, as a meal of nectar will pass from the crop into the intestine in only about
4 minutes, and it takes less than 15 minutes for the body to extract up to 99% of the sugar glucose. Hummingbirds are essential for reproduction of many New World plants, as pollen is attached to the plumage of a hummingbird while it feeds at a flower. Moving on while searching for food, the hummingbird transports the pollen to the next flower. Some flowers are visited by only one or a few species of hummingbirds whereas others attract many different species. Plants which carry flowers that hummingbirds feed on provide nectar throughout the whole year – in contrast to plants which produce seasonal nectar and which are pollinated by insects. Another special feature of hummingbirds is their flight - with the help of their flexible wings and 10 to 80 wingbeats per second, they can not only fly forward, but also back- and sideward, manoeuvring like a helicopter and remaining ‘motionless’ in mid-air – thus they are able to reach even the most hidden flowers. Up to 200 wingbeats per
Hummingbirds mainly consume nectar – very energy-rich food – from flowers. They search for the nectar by visiting large, brightly coloured flowers. Red seems to be the preferred colour due to the spectral sensitivity of the hummingbirds’ eyes. The nectar is gathered with an extremely extendable bifurcated tongue which is flicked 3 to 13 times per second.
08 BIRD SCENE
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