The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (''Mellisuga helenae'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

, native to the island of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in the Caribbean. It is the world's smallest

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

Description

The bee hummingbird is the smallest living bird. Females weigh and are long, and are slightly larger than males, which have an average weight of and length of . Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier. The male has a green pileum and bright red throat, iridescent

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the th ...

with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper parts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. Compared to other small hummingbirds, which often have a slender appearance, the bee hummingbird looks rounded and plump. Female bee hummingbirds are bluish green with a pale gray underside. The tips of their tail feathers have white spots. During the mating season, males have a reddish to pink head, chin, and throat. The female lays only two eggs at a time, each about the size of a

coffee bean A coffee bean is a seed of the ''Coffea'' plant and the source for coffee. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even thou ...

. The bee hummingbird's

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

s have

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

colors, which is not always noticeable, but depends on the viewing angle. The bird's slender, pointed bill is adapted for probing deep into

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. The bee hummingbird feeds mainly on

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

, by moving its tongue rapidly in and out of its mouth. In the process of feeding, the bird picks up

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

on its

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and head. When it flies from flower to flower, it transfers the pollen. In this way, it plays an important role in

plant reproduction Plant reproduction is the production of new offspring in plants, which can be accomplished by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from eithe ...

. In one day, the bee hummingbird may visit 1,500 flowers. It is a diurnal bird that can fly at , and it beats its wings 80–200 times per second, which allows it to remain stationary in the air to feed on flowers. The bee hummingbird lives up to seven years in the wild, and 10 years in captivity. The bee hummingbird is also the smallest known

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

as no smaller bird or non-avian dinosaur has been found in the fossil record. File:Mellisuga helenae Size Comparison.svg, Size of ''M. helenae'' compared to a human hand File:Bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) adult male non-breeding.jpg, Adult male,

File:Bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) immature male.jpg, Juvenile male

Diet

The bee hummingbird has been reported to visit ten plant species, nine of them native to Cuba. These flowers include ''

Hamelia patens ''Hamelia patens'' is a large perennial shrub or small tree in the family Rubiaceae, that is native to the American subtropics and tropics. Its range extends from Florida in the southern United States to as far south as Argentina. Common names in ...

'' (Rubiaceae), ''

Chrysobalanus icaco ''Chrysobalanus'' is a genus of evergreen perennial shrubs to small trees, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to sub-tropical and tropical regions of Africa, Latin America, and Florida Florida is a state located in th ...

'' (Chrysobalanaceae), ''Pavonia paludicola'' (Malvaceae), ''Forsteronia corymbosa'' (Apocynaceae), ''

Lysiloma latisiliquum ''Lysiloma latisiliquum'', commonly known as false tamarind or wild tamarind, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, that is native to southern Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Fl ...

'' (Mimosaceae), ''

Turnera ulmifolia ''Turnera ulmifolia'', the ramgoat dashalong or yellow alder, is a species of plant of family Passifloraceae, native to Mexico and the West Indies. A recent study found that yellow alder potentiated the antibiotic activity against methicillin-res ...

'' (Passifloraceae), ''

Antigonon leptopus ''Antigonon leptopus'' is a species of perennial vine in the buckwheat family commonly known as coral vine or queen's wreath. This clambering vine is characterized by showy, usually pink flowers that can bloom throughout the year and large, heart ...

'' (Polygonaceae), ''Clerodendrum aculeatum'' (Verbenaceae), ''

Tournefortia hirsutissima ''Tournefortia'', commonly known as soldierbush, is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It was first published under the name ''Pittonia'' by Charles Plumier in 1703, in honour of Joseph Pitton de Tournefort. Later, ...

'' (Boraginaceae), and ''Cissus obovata'' (Vitaceae). They occasionally eat insects and spiders. In a typical day, bee hummingbirds will consume up to half their body weight in food.

Habitat and distribution

The bee hummingbird is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the entire Cuban

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

, including the main island of Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Its population is fragmented, found in Cuba's

mogote A mogote () is a generally-isolated steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overvi ...

areas in Pinar del Rio province and more commonly in

Zapata Swamp The Zapata Swamp ( es, Ciénaga de Zapata, ) is located on the Zapata Peninsula in the southern Matanzas Province of Cuba, in the municipality of Ciénaga de Zapata. It is located less than southeast of Havana. Species and preservation Within th ...

(Matanzas province) and in eastern Cuba, with reference localities in Alexander Humboldt National Park and Baitiquirí Ecological Reserve (Guantanamo province) and Gibara and Sierra Cristal (Holguin province).

Breeding

Nido en un patio Cubano de Mellisuga helenae

Male bee hummingbirds court females with sound from tail‐feathers, which flutter during display dives. The bee hummingbird's breeding season is March–June, with the female laying one or two eggs. Using strands of

cobwebs A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spid ...

, bark, and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...

by incubation for 21 days by only the female, followed by 2 days of hatching, and 18 days of care by the mother. Over the last 4–5 days of

nestling Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight s ...

, juvenile bee hummingbirds practice their flight capabilities. The nests are used only once, then degrade by rain and other natural factors.

Coevolution with flowers

The bee hummingbird's interaction with the flowers that supply nectar is a notable example of bird–plant

coevolution In biology, coevolution occurs when two or more species reciprocally affect each other's evolution through the process of natural selection. The term sometimes is used for two traits in the same species affecting each other's evolution, as well ...

with its primary food source (flowers for

References

External links

Bee Hummingbird videos, photos, and sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection

VIREO * ttp://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/beehummingbird.html Article with synopsis(with photos); ttp://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/photos/melhel12326.jpg Photobr>BeautyofBirds / Avian Web – Bee HummingbirdARKive Bee Hummingbird Fact File
{{Taxonbar, from=Q213036 Mellisuga Endemic birds of Cuba Birds described in 1850 Taxa named by Juan Lembeye