Suddenly you see a quick flash out of the corner of your eye, zipping by you as he heads for the feeder or to settle on a branch not far away. Hovering almost effortlessly over the branch, he zips from side to side like a small helicopter coming in for a landing. Finally he settles on the branch, his overly long beak signaling his eating preferences. As he lifts off and disappears from sight you wonder at the natural miracle that is the hummingbird.
Hummingbirds are wonderfully small birds with either metallic green or red throats.
They will often hover in midair with their wings beating so fast that it creates a humming sound - hence the name. With their wings beating 38 to 78 times a second, they can hover in one spot for the longest time before darting off instantly in any direction. This is due to the structure of the bird's feathers. While most birds get their color from simple pigmentation, the hummingbird's shimmering color is structural. The iridescent colors of the feathers come from layers of special cells within the top layers of the feathers.