Hummingbirds are very fast animals. Their wings beat 80 times per second, and their heart beats up to 1,260 beats per minute.
Hummingbirds have one of the fastest metabolisms of any animal on the planet. In fact, their metabolisms are over 75 times faster than a human’s and almost 100 times faster than an elephant’s.
Hummingbirds are tiny (only 3-4 grams in weight), but supporting such high metabolisms requires a lot of calories.
Hummingbirds eat up to two times their body weight in food every day to stay fueled. Many people think hummingbirds only drink nectar from plants or hummingbird feeders
This includes spiders and insects such as gnats, flies, mosquitoes, and ants. In fact, a hummingbird’s diet is mostly insects, and they often catch insects mid-air.
Hummingbirds also need sugar to sustain their high metabolism, and that’s where flower nectar comes in.
Hummingbirds prefer flowers with nectar that have high sugar content, and they will reject flowers with nectar that don’t meet their standards