Bee hummingbird - wikipedia Bee hummingbird Bee hummingbird immature male Female in flight Both at Palpite, Cuba Conservation status Near Threatened ( IUCN 3.1 ) Scientific classification Kingdom : Animalia Phylum : Chordata Class : Aves Order : Apodiformes Family : Trochilidae Genus : Mellisuga Species : M. helenae Binomial name Mellisuga helenae ( Lembeye, 1850 ) Adult male non-breeding Cuba Adult male in flight Cuba The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird ( Mellisuga helenae ) is a species of hummingbird which is the world 's smallest bird. Contents 1 Description 2 Diet 3 Habitat and distribution 4 Breeding 5 Coevolution with flowers 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Description The bee hummingbird is the smallest living bird. Females weigh 2.6 g ( 0.092 oz ) and are 6.1 cm ( 2.4 in ) long, and are slightly larger than males, with an average weight of 1.95 g ( 0.069 oz ) and length of 5.5 cm ( 2.2 in ). As its name suggests, it is scarcely larger than a bee. Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier. The male has a green pileum and fiery red throat, iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper parts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. The male is smaller than the female. The female is green above, whitish below, with white tips to the outer tail feathers. Compared to other small hummingbirds, which often have a slender appearance, the bee hummingbird looks rounded and chunky. 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. The brilliant, iridescent colors of the bee hummingbird 's feathers make the bird seem like a tiny jewel. The iridescence is not always noticeable, but depends on the viewing angle. The bird 's slender, pointed bill is adapted for probing deep into flowers. The bee hummingbird feeds mainly on nectar, and an occasional insect or spider, by moving its tongue rapidly in and out of its mouth. In the process of feeding, the bird picks up pollen on its bill and head. When it flies from flower to flower, it transfers the pollen. In this way, it plays an important role in plant reproduction. In one day, the bee hummingbird may visit 1,500 flowers. Using bits of cobwebs, bark, and lichen, the female bee hummingbird builds a cup - shaped nest that is only about 2.5 cm ( 0.98 in ) in diameter. Nests have been built on single clothespins. She lines the nest with soft plant fibers. In this nest she lays her eggs, which are no bigger than peas. She alone incubates the eggs and raises the young. Diet The bee hummingbird has been reported to visit 10 plant species ; nine of them were found to be endemic to Cuba. These flowers include Hamelia patens ( Rubiaceae ), Chrysobalanus icaco ( Chrysobalanaceae ), Pavonia paludicola ( Malvaceae ), Forsteronia corymbosa ( Apocynaceae ), Lysiloma latisiliquum ( Mimosaceae ), Turnera ulmifolia ( Passifloraceae ), Antigonon leptopus ( Polygonaceae ), Clerodendrum aculeatum ( Verbenaceae ), Tournefortia hirsutissima ( Boraginaceae ), and Cissus obovata ( Vitaceae ). Habitat and distribution The bee hummingbird is endemic to the entire Cuban archipelago, including the main island of Cuba and the Isle of Youth in the West Indies. It is found mainly in Cuba 's mogote area and uncommonly in Playa Larga near Zapata Swamp, but has been spotted in western Cuba. Breeding Sideview of the nest The bee hummingbird 's breeding season is March -- June. They lay up to 2 eggs at a time. Coevolution with flowers The bee hummingbird interaction with the flowers that supply nectar is a notable example of bird -- plant coevolution with its primary food source ( flowers for nectar ). See also Hummingbird moth References Jump up ^ BirdLife International ( 2012 ). `` Mellisuga helenae ''. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. ^ Jump up to : Simon, Matt ( 10 July 2015 ). `` Absurd Creature of the Week : The World 's Tiniest Bird Weighs Less Than a Dime ''. Wired. Retrieved 8 March 2017. ^ Jump up to : Dalsgaard, B ; Martín González, A.M. ; Olesen, J.M. ; Ollerton, J ; Timmermann, A ; Andersen, L.H. ; Tossas, A.G. ( 2009 ). `` Plant - hummingbird interactions in the West Indies : Floral specialisation gradients associated with environment and hummingbird size ''. Oecologia. 159 ( 4 ) : 757 -- 66. doi : 10.1007 / s00442 - 008 - 1255 - z. PMID 19132403. ^ Jump up to : Adrienne Glick. `` Mellisuga helenae ''. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 19. Jump up ^ T.S. Schulenber, ed. ( 2010 ). `` Bee Hummingbird, Mellisuga helenae ''. Ithaca, N.Y. : Neotropical Birds Online, Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. Retrieved 8 March 2017. Jump up ^ Piper, Ross ( 2007 ). Extraordinary Animals : An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals '. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978 - 0313339226. ^ Jump up to : Dalsgaard, Bo, et al. `` Floral traits of plants visited by the bee hummingbird ( Mellisuga helenae ) ''. Ornitologia Neotropical 23.1 ( 2012 ) : 143 -- 149. Jump up ^ Ibarra, Elena. `` Bird Surveys In The Mogote Vegetational Complex In The Sierra Del Infierno, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, June 2000 ''. El Pitirre : 7. Jump up ^ Garrido, O.H., & A. Kirkconnell. 2000. Field guide to the birds of Cuba. Cornell University Press, New York Jump up ^ Martínez García, Orestes ; Bacallao Mesa, Loraiza ; Nieves Lorenzo, Elio ( 1998 ). `` Estudio preliminar de la conducta reproductiva de Mellisuga helenae ( Aves, Apodiformes ) en condiciones naturales '' ( Preliminary study on the reproductive behaviour of Mellisuga helenae ( Aves, Apodiformes ) in natural conditions ). El Pitirre ( in Spanish ) ( Winter ) : 102 -- 106. External links Wikispecies has information related to : Mellisuga helenae Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mellisuga helenae. Bee Hummingbird videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection Bee Hummingbird photo gallery VIREO Article with synopsis ( with photos ) ; Photo BeautyofBirds / Avian Web - Bee Hummingbird ARKive Bee Hummingbird Fact File Taxon identifiers Wd : Q213036 ADW : Mellisuga_helenae EoL : 914480 GBIF : 5228500 iNaturalist : 6425 ITIS : 555310 IUCN : 22688214 Species+ : 10117 ARKive : bee - hummingbird / mellisuga - helenae Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bee_hummingbird&oldid=809693948 '' Categories : IUCN Red List near threatened species Mellisuga Birds of Cuba Birds described in 1850 Hidden categories : CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) Use dmy dates from May 2017 Articles with ' species ' microformats Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikispecies বাংলা Български Brezhoneg Català Cebuano Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Italiano עברית Magyar Македонски Монгол Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk پنجابی Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Tiếng Việt Winaray 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 November 2017, at 20 : 15. 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Question: what is the name of the smallest hummingbird
Answer: bee hummingbird