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  Profile

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  In flight

Hummingbirds

Bee Hummingbird

Mellisuga helenae

• epic
• 56 km/h
• Near Threatened

The world's smallest bird, at 1.6 grams. Its nest is the size of a thimble. Cuba only.

Population

22,000–66,000 mature individuals (declining, est. 20–29% decline per decade)

Habitat

Dense, humid forest and forest edge with abundant lianas and epiphytes, including mogote limestone-hill vegetation, swamp-forest margins (e.g. Zapata Swamp), scrub/thickets and gardens; elevation range roughly 0–800 m

Fun fact

At around 5.5–6.1 cm long and roughly 2 grams, the Bee Hummingbird is the smallest living bird species in the world, with males beating their wings up to 80 times per second to hover in courtship displays.

Range

Endemic to the Cuban archipelago (mainland Cuba and Isla de la Juventud); now restricted to scattered localities including Guanahacabibes Peninsula, Sierra del Rosario, the Zapata Swamp and vicinity, and eastern Cuba (Holguín, Santiago, Guantánamo)

Diet

Nectar from roughly ten flowering plant species (mostly native to Cuba), supplemented with small insects and spiders for protein; visits on the order of ~1,500 flowers per day, consuming up to about half its body weight in food daily

Size

0.058 m

Wingspan

0.0325 m

Lifespan

7 years