The average hummingbird weighs about 4 grams--a little less than a U.S. nickel.
Hummingbirds can fly backwards and upside down. They can also beat their wings in a figure-eight pattern, which makes them the only vertebrates capable of sustained hovering.
Roughly 25 to 30 percent of a hummingbird's weight comes from its pectoral muscles. These are the broad chest muscles principally responsible for flying.
The bee hummingbird is native to Cuba and is only rarely spotted on other nearby islands. Barely larger than an actual bee, it is only 2-2.4 inches long and weighs a mere 0.056-0.071 ounces.
The rufous hummingbird has the longest migration of any hummingbird species, flying more than 3,000 miles from their nesting grounds in Alaska and Canada to their winter habitat in Mexico.
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