Beautiful Hummingbirds

Beautiful HummingbirdsPictures by Tony MarkleSlideshow byMos CreationsJanuary 17 2011

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Hummingbird is a small bird of the Trochilidae family. The rapid beating of the hummingbirds wings (60 to 80 beats per second) makes the distinctive humming sound from which they get their name.

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The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone.

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Because a hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle, they are the only bird that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down,sideways and hover in mid air.

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A hummingbird has no sense of smell

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Hummingbirds are the second largest Family of birds with 343 species.

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A hummingbird has a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute.

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Percentage wise, the hummingbird has the largest brain of all birds (4.2% of its total body weight).

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Hummingbirds have very weak feet and use them mainly just for perching.

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During courtship dives a hummingbird does, can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour and can average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.

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To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate.

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The foundation to make the perfect nest is made of spider webs due to their sticky nature. Next a layer of soft materials are added such as moss or leaf hairs.

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Hummingbirds are found only in North America and South America.The hummingbird range extends as far north as South Eastern Alaskaand the hummingbird range extends as far south as southern Chile.

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South America has the biggest variety of hummingbirds and morethan half The species are found there. The country of Ecuador in North Western South America has the largest number of hummingbirds of any one country with 163 different species. I hope you have enjoyed this slideshow. All images are copyright Tony Markle.All other graphic work, such as frames and backgrounds are mine.For more slideshows you can check out my website and Slidesharehttp://moscreations.topcities.com/slideshows.htmlhttp://www.slideshare.net/moscreationsMusic: Hummingbird B.B. King, feat. John MayerIf you would like to download the MP3, here is a link: http://www.box.net/shared/static/di6i3di3bn.mp3

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