Scientists have yet to explain why hummingbirds disappeared from Europe. The oldest hummingbird fossil was discovered in Germany in 2004. Today, hummingbirds are exclusive to the Americas, but that was not always the case. Hummingbirds existed in Europe 30 million years ago. Thanks to the birds' incredible flight ability, hummingbird migration can be surprisingly fast: The Ruby-throated Hummingbird, for example, makes a nonstop 500-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico in less than a day. The Rufous Hummingbird is also a long-distance traveler, taking on a 3,900-mile-long journey. The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest long-distance migratory bird in the world, travelling more than 5,000 miles each year. Hummingbirds make amazing migration journeys. Small feet are an asset both for swifts and hummingbirds because they reduce drag in flight, making these birds more aerodynamic. They belong to the bird order Apodiformes (meaning “footless”), which also includes other great aerialists with tiny feet, the swifts. Hummingbirds can only perch or scoot sideways. Video by Greg Homel/Natural Elements Productions. Slow motion clip of the Honduran Emerald in flight. These birds' flexible shoulder joints allow their wings to rotate 180 degrees, which enables backward flight and stationary hovering. The name hummingbird comes from the humming sound their wings make as they fly. Most hummingbirds beat their wings 60 to 80 times per second. Even more amazing, some hummingbirds can enter a state of torpor, reducing their heart rates to as few as 50 beats per minute to conserve energy and survive cold temperatures. Compare that to a human's average heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. Costa's Hummingbird's beats between 500 and 900 times. The Blue-throated Mountain-gem's heart beats as fast as 1,260 beats per minute. Hummingbirds' heartbeats are through the roof.

Still to be hopefully rediscovered is the Turquoise-throated Puffleg, which is primarily known from specimens collected in Ecuador in 1850 and one unconfirmed sighting in 1976. There was not a single sighting of the Blue-bearded Helmetcrest between 19, when ABC partner Fundación ProAves launched a search and rediscovered the bird in Colombia. Other species have remained unseen for decades. This is because a large portion of a hummingbird's brain is occupied by the hippocampus, an area dedicated to learning and spatial memory. They are also able to keep track of bloom peaks and remember which flowers they've visited. Hummingbirds have outstanding spatial memory and can remember feeder locations years later. Ecuador, with its diverse landscapes and climates, is home to the largest number – some 130 species. The vast majority of hummingbirds are found in tropical areas, with the greatest diversity in the northern Andes. Still others are rare wanderers like the Berylline Hummingbird, only occasionally found north of the border with Mexico. Others, like the Lucifer Hummingbird, have small U.S. Some are common, like the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the only species commonly found in the East, and Anna's Hummingbird, which is found year-round along the West Coast. and several others that pop up there rarely, we see only a fraction of the total number of species. With 15 hummingbird species found in the U.S. Want to learn more about these tiny wonders and why we need to protect them? Here are 10 fascinating facts about hummingbirds: All of these species are ecological and cultural treasures, and ABC is working with international partners to protect them and the other species sharing their habitats.

Unfortunately, habitat loss threatens many species, including ten that are Critically Endangered, such as the Glittering Starfrontlet, Chilean Woodstar, and Juan Fernández Firecrown. Hummingbirds have adapted to a wide variety of climates and environments, including desert scrublands and even chilly grassy and bushy areas called páramo, found above the treeline 10,000 or more feet up in the Andes. But there are hundreds of species in the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. You might be familiar with some of the more common species in North America, like the Ruby-throated and Rufous Hummingbirds. Found only in the Americas, hummingbirds are distinguished by their dazzling colors, diminutive size, and speedy flight.

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