Fact #17

Real Fact #17: A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

The hummingbird is one of nature's most beautiful, delicate, and bizarre creatures rolled into one.

Hummingbirds draw attention with their gorgeous colors and quick movements. There are many species across the United States and they have enough of a fan base to have their own website! Hummingbirds.net contains a wealth of information about these tiny birds, and is my primary resource for this blog.

There are over a dozen different species of hummingbird in the U.S. While all are fascinating to read about, I will quickly discuss specifics about hummingbirds that are native to my current region; namely, Colorado. Out of the 17 species I found, 6 have been known to take up residence in this state!

Male black-chinned hummingbird, (c) Dan True

The black-chinned hummingbird can be found in 25 states plus western Canada. Known as the "least colorful" of United States hummingbirds, they are rather plain looking. The male has a brown green crest with a purple throat band. Males weigh 3.09 grams, while the larger female can weigh 3.42 grams.

The blue-throated hummingbird is a large one, with males tipping your gram scale at 8.4 grams. Largely observed in southern states but found as north as Utah, these birds are homely as females while the males are a grey-ish color and have a blue gorget and tail.

Male blue-throated hummingbird, (c) Dan True

The broad-billed hummingbird looks quite attractive, with its iridescently green body (well, the males anyway). These birds have been observed across the U.S. in a smattering of states and weigh a 3.4 to 3.72 grams, depending on gender.

Male broad-billed hummingbird, (c) Dan True

The calliope hummingbird prefers high mountain regions, having been seen at elevations extending over 11,000 feet high. While it may like mountains, it may not particular to where it lives: this bird has been seen in 31 states! Maybe not the most attractive hummingbird out there, it comes in slightly smaller than the previously mentioned species at 2.5 to 2.83 grams. In this species, the female is bigger.

Male calliope hummingbird, (c) Dan True

The magnificent hummingbird, I am sad to say, doesn't exactly look it. The second-largest hummingbird in the country, these birds weigh 6.4 to 7.7 grams, depending on gender. They can be found largely in the southern U.S., although there are exceptions. This bird has been spotted in Minnesota.

Male magnificent hummingbird, (c) Dan True

The rufous hummingbird could be described as feisty. A bully at feeders, it usually out-maneuvers other species to get what it wants. It doesn't seem to care about location. Seen in every state except Hawaii, this bird weighs in at 3.22 to 3.41 grams, with the females outweighing the males by a fraction.

Male rufous hummingbird, (c) Dan True

Now that I have thrown all these facts at you, the question remains: do these birds weight the same as a penny? As the weight between the species ranges from 2.5 to 8.4 grams, it is safe to say that not every bird weighs the same as a penny. As someone on a very tight budget, I have plenty of pennies lying around. Yet while I have one scale in the bathroom and one in the kitchen, neither are sensitive enough to weigh one. So I turned to the U.S. Mint.

"Head" of a penny. Courtesy of marshu.com

According to usmint.gov, the penny is made of copper-plated zinc. They are 1.52mm thick, have plain edges, and  are 0.75 inches in diameter. Here's the real kicker: a penny weighs 2.5 grams. So Snapple is right, in a sense...the calliope hummingbird can weigh the same as a penny. All other species that I researched weight at least a gram more. Maybe they just need to be more specific. And perhaps there are other breeds in the U.S. and around the world that are smaller than a penny. Again, I only looked at birds observed in Colorado, mostly for the sake of time and to keep this blog from becoming 20 pages long. Check your facts, Snapple!

Hummingbirds make me think of childhood. I have mentioned my family's cabin previously. Well the area it's based in has hummingbirds in the summer. They dart and zip around, seemingly never landing...ever. Since I was a tot, my mom and grandma would hang a hummingbird feeder right outside the kitchen window. Every so often you would look up from a meal and see a green and white hummer hovering over an opening of the bright red feeder, his little beak buried deep in the hole, sucking up sugar water.

Hummingbird using the family feeder, (c) Allison, 2009

Having flipped through the species photos I have found, I think this was a female rofous hummingbird. They tend to hang out an drink for a minute or two, then take off to wherever they came from. When I was really little, we also fed duck and other birds leftover bread edges (we finicky kids refused to eat bread crusts). However the park in which the cabin sits put out a law forbidding the feeding of any animals. Makes sense...when we quit feeding the birds the raccoons left too (I remember Grandma sweeping them off the porch with a broom!).  However hummingbird feeders must not have been part of that jurisdiction.

As I have grown up, fewer and fewer hummers have paid that feeder a visit. As I have not been to the cabin since 2011 (SOB!) I have no idea if my family still hangs it outside the window. I hope they do. Hummers are fascinating to watch! Some species are also struggling and I think it would be best if they stuck around on planet Earth for quite some time to come.

References:

Chambers, Lanny. "." Humminbirds.net. Lanny Chambers, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html>.

"Coin Specifiactions." United States Mint. United States Mint, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/index.cfm?action=Coin_specifications>.