Hummingbirds are known for their rapid wing beat and for rapid flight. Using their long, extensible tongue , hummingbirds feed on nectar and tiny insects found within flowers, while hovering in front of the flower. They are the only birds capable of flying backwards, which they do when backing away from flowers. Most hummingbirds are brightly colored and iridescent, commonly metallic green . They build small cup-shaped nests covered with lichens, spiderwebs, and small pieces of bark, saddled on a branch.
Hummingbirds occur throughout the Americas, but most species inhabit tropical South America.
It is notable for its long-distance migration, annually flying nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico. Huitzilopochtli Huitzilopochtli, in Aztec religion, god of war and of the sun. According to tradition, he guided the Aztecs during their migration from their mythical homeland to the valley of Mexico. Aztecs believed that dead warriors were reborn as hummingbirds, and Huitzilopochtli was usually depicted either as a hummingbird or as a warrior wearing hummingbird feathers. His mother was the earth goddess Coatlicue.