Bee hummingbird

The smallest bird in the world

The bee hummingbird is so tiny that people mistake it for a bee! It weighs 2 grams — as much as a coin. Its egg is the size of a pea. A hummingbird can hover in one spot and even fly backwards — no other bird can do that. Its wings beat 80 times a second!

The bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the world's smallest bird: 5–6 cm, 1.6–2 g, found only in Cuba. Its wings beat 80 times a second (200 in courtship displays) and its heart beats 1,200 times a minute. Each day it drinks half its weight in nectar and visits 1,500 flowers. At night it enters torpor to save energy — its body temperature drops sharply. Its nest is 2.5 cm across and its egg 6 mm. Numbers are falling due to forest loss.

Fun facts

• A bee hummingbird's heart beats 1,200 times a minute.
• Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.
• Its nest is the size of a walnut shell, its egg the size of a pea.