You may have heard that a hummingbird can starve to death quite quickly, in as little as two hours. Due to this, hummingbirds must eat frequently, between 5 and 8 times an hour. Have you ever wondered just how much hummingbirds eat? The answer may surprise you.
No other animal on earth has a faster metabolism then the hummingbird. Just how fast is it? It is roughly 100 times that of an elephant. These very tiny birds burn calories so quickly that they often eat 1.5 to 3 times their body weight in food per day! As a result of their efforts to gather enough nectar, these bids must visit hundreds of flowers every day.
2 replies on “Just How Much Do Hummingbirds Eat?”
I’m going through 1 or 2 cups per day of sugar water for the birds. How many are likely to be eating from my feeders?
It is difficult to estimate the number of birds visiting your feeder, but it can be done.
Hummingbird expert Sherri Williamson explains it very well. Please see the following below.
Please see Sherri Williamson’s blog post “Running the hummer numbers” for more on estimating feeder visitors.