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Bee Hummingbird

Mellisuga helenae

Near Threatened · IUCN Red List

NTNear ThreatenedEndemicNectarForestCup nestTiny · 2 g
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 1
Photo: Josefito123 · CC0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 2
Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 3
Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 4
Photo: Josefito123 · CC0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 5
Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 6
Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 7
Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 8
Photo: Josefito123 · CC0
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), photo 9
Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0

ID tip

The bee hummingbird is the smallest living bird. Females weigh 2.6 g (0.092 oz) and are 6.1 cm (2+3⁄8 in) long, and are slightly larger than males, which have an average weight of 1.95 g (0.069 oz) and length of 5.5 cm (2+1⁄8 in). Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier. The male has a green pileum and bright red throat, an iridescent scarlet gorget (when exposed to sunlight) with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper parts, and the rest of the underparts are mostly greyish white.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Bee Hummingbird

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Bee Hummingbird

Regular range

The map shades 1 country with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Cuba

About the Bee Hummingbird

The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird is a species of hummingbird, native to the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the smallest known bird. The bee hummingbird feeds on flower nectar and insects.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Vervain Hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) Vervain HummingbirdMellisuga minimaThe vervain hummingbird is perhaps the second-smallest bird in the world after the smallest, the bee hummingbird, though some other tiny ones are close to it in size.

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