There are over 300 species of hummingbirds living in the world, and they can be found in the western hemisphere. Hummingbirds are about 4.5 to 20 centimeters long (that’s 1.75 to 8 inches). These little birds are territorial and they chase other birds away, even hawks. Nectar is the main food for hummingbirds and they eat nectar from flowers by hovering over the openings of flowers by beating their wings between 15 and 80 beats per second. It’s a little bit fast wing flapping.
The hummingbirds actually extend their tongues out to drink the nectar. They need to refuel about every 15 minutes as beating its wings that long and fast is exhausting. We are not sure whether they have time to stop and sleep as they’re a hyperactive bird, but of course, they do. As flowers close at night and the sweet little birds get a chance to rest. The hummingbirds enter a state known as torpor, which is a form of sleep where the metabolic rate and heart slow to allow the hummingbirds to conserve their energy in order to survive.
It’s hard to wake up from torpor. But these hummingbirds have a unique way to wake up. They must take on more oxygen to wake up and the deep breaths produce a small whistling sound and it seems like they’re snoring. It’s really cute. The BBC did a special on “Super Cute Animals,” and one of the creatures they featured was a cute little hummingbird that is snoring as it slept.
Here is the fascinating video.