They are small and colourful birds that have iridescent feathers. They get their name from the humming noise they make as a result of flapping their wings extremely fast (approximately 80 flaps in one second). Hummingbirds can fly in any direction; even backwards and also have the ability to hover in mind air.

They have an extremely long bill that is specially tapered in order to suck the nectar from flowers that have long tubes. Their primary diet is made up of flower nectar, pollen, insects and tree sap. Due to their fast heartbeat, breathing rate and high temperature, they need to eat very regularly and in high volumes on a daily basis.

Hummingbirds can only be found in the Western Hemisphere with most of them living in the tropics. There are hundreds of different hummingbird species with about a dozen of them living in North American during the summer and migrating to the more tropical areas in the winter. In previous times, they used to be killed for their fathers. However, they face different risks today, mainly the destruction and loss of their habitats.

Each hummingbird species is specially adapted to their own habitat; therefore they are now marked as being vulnerable or endangered by the IUCN red list. Other factors such as climate change are causing hummingbirds to migrate to locations they wouldn’t normally be accustomed to and where they often struggle to find enough food.

They are many people’s favorite bird in North America and they are often the most desired of species to have in your backyard. Therefore, it is extremely popular for people to attract them to their garden by using hummingbird feeders.

These feeders attract the hummingbirds during the hotter months and provide food that will help fuel them for the long migratory journey that lies ahead of them. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, so if you are wanting to attract them, ensure that you have red flowers or red bird feeders in your yard. The hummingbirds don’t eat just regular bird seeds, they take the nectar out of flowers. You can also get nectar to buy in your bird feeders on Amazon.