Feathers Per Square Inch

A swan has up to 25,000 feathers but a hummingbird has the fewest feathers of all birds – only about 1,000 feathers. But being so small, it has more feathers per square inch than most other birds.

A hummingbird beats its wings up to 80 times per second, flying at speeds up to 35 mph (56km/h). Its heart beats more than 1200 times per minute. Which means it needs a lot of food and liquid for energy. It eats up to half its own weight and drinks 8 times its weight in water each day.  Its long tubular tongue licks nectar at 13 times a second.

The hummingbird is one of the smallest bird species and the only one that is known to be able to fly backwards.