The humming bird is a tiny flashy little bird that I loved to watch as a
little girl. These tiny birds came right up to our window and drank nectar from
the red hot poker flowers. We loved to get honey out of these flowers too but we
got into trouble with mom for walking in her flower bed. There was a tiny
humming bird nest in the big maple tree behind our house. It had bits of bark on
it and spider web all over it to help hold it together. When we held real still
on a blanket under the tree, we could watch the birds going back and forth to
the nest. Several times we heard the noise they made like a rubber band. They
were coming down out of the sky and zooming back up a ways. All the way down
they sounded kind of like a rubber band. When they swooped back up, they changed
their noise like they were giggling or something.
I always loved wearing something real bright because the humming birds would come right up to me to look for flower nectar.
When they came up close, I could see their throat. It sparkled like jewels of red. When it turned, the color changed a little to almost purple. If I held still it did not seem frightened at all.
Hummingbirds are full of surprises. Their wings have been designed by God in such a way that they can go sideways, up and down, front wards and backwards better than any helicopter. God designed their bone structure different from other birds. Other birds have long "arm" bones, but a hummingbird's wing is practically all "hand". The muscle structure is much more intricate in the hummingbird. More than 1/3rd of the hummingbird weight is in its chest muscles. They have a set of muscles for upward motion of wings and another set for downward motion. They are the only bird that get their flying power from both up and down wing beats.
The brilliant hummingbirds are one of the biggest families of birds in the world. Over 300 species of these live helicopters have been found to exist.
There is a hummingbird with a bill long enough for just about every flower God has made. The bills of these birds are different lengths. Some are a long 4 inches (or 10 centimeters) while others are as short as half inch (125 millimeters). God has designed some with a curve down and some look like a hook.
The extravagant design of the tail feathers on some of these helicopters describes the mind of a Creator as ONE WHO LOVES BEAUTY. Some tail feathers look like a brilliant little feather tied to a long string. It looks like they must have taken them from another bird. God did not stop with just beauty, He made the pretty feathers on the tail able to make a humming sound. The male bird uses the humming sound of his tail to attract a female.
Some of these hummingbirds like the one I saw growing up, are amazing travelers. Even though the little Rufus hummingbird is no bigger than a big thumb, it flies 2,500 miles over stormy oceans and mountains down to Central America. It goes back to Alaska over the same route.
The brave hummingbird can even attack an eagle that is over 100 times as big. It can fly circles about the eagle. It can reach full speed almost as soon as it takes off. The rest of the birds have to get their speed up as they go like you do in a car getting on the freeway.
Mother hummingbirds work very hard because the male does not help with the nest. They have to sit on the eggs and take care of the chicks all by themselves. Did God make a mistake? Well, He designed the females without as many bright colors so she could go about her work raising families unnoticed. He only had them lay two eggs. That is all they can take care of. God did not have all families operate the same. He loves variety. In only one month, the little baby hummingbird is ready to take off and feed himself.
The smallest bird in the world is the bee hummingbird. It weight less than a penny. It is two inches from its bill to its tail. Only the male of this species is the smallest bird. The nest of this tiny bird is one inch across. It is fixed onto a branch with cobwebs. lichens are woven in with pieces of bark.
This bird has an extremely high metabolic rate per unit of weight. In fact, it breaks all records for food quantity needs. Nectar, spiders, flies and other insects make up the diet of this amazing helicopter.
Packed into this little helicopter with jet speeds is a master blend of muscle and bone construction for speed. Also there is wisdom for traveling through dangerous storms and over mountains with the ability to find fuel for their high energy demands. The Creator put the most magnificent splashes of brilliant metallic colors on these little birds. The hum from their wings and tail feathers is really fascinating. God showed the most brilliant wisdom in engineering this helicopter. God loves beauty and soft humming sounds. He loves it when we sing softly and hum as we go about our work. He loves singing. He even sings about us. (Zech 3:17)
Author and Illustrator
Dr. Rose
1999