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Olympic Champions of the Aviary World

The 2008 Summer Olympics are officially underway in China.This a time when the athletes of the world come together to compete against one another for the glory of their individual countries as well as the fulfillment of the athlete’s personal dream as well as years of personal training. Although not every athlete who competes in the Olympic Games will bring home a medal, in my book, they are all winners because they are part of such a select group of individuals that were choose to represent their country on the ultimate sports stage, the Olympic Games.Congratulations one an all on your remarkable achievement! Your countrymen and the world are proud of you and we will be watching and cheering as you put forth your best efforts.

Now, you may be wondering, what does the Olympic Games have to do with hummingbirds? Well, let me explain. These birds are so extremely tiny in size, they go at such amazing speeds and more that this has made me declare them the gold medal winners within the aviary world. This is just my own personal opinion, but I believe that you will agree with me by the time you finish reading this post.

Let’s look at the size of the hummingbird.The smallest hummingbird is the Bee Hummingbird which is found in Cuba. It is only 2 1/4 inches long and weighs just under 2 grams. The largest hummingbird is the Giant Hummingbird, which weighs between 21 and 23 grams. So much for be the giant of the species! How do birds that size accomplish all that they do?

Let’s look at the sheer speed of the hummingbird. While at rest, a hummingbird takes 250 breaths per minute. The heart rate of a hummingbird is 1,260 times per minute.Hummingbirds travel at an average speed of 25-30 miles per hour.

The fight of the hummingbird is totally unique within the aviary world. When in flight, the hummingbird’s wings will beat 22-78 times per second. They can fly forward, backward, and upside down. They fly backwards by spreading their tail and then doing a backwards somersault. Also, the pectoral or flight muscles of a hummingbird accounts for 1/4 of its total body weight. In humans, the pectoral muscles account for 5 percent of our total body weight.

The hummingbird is the only bird with the ability to fly forwards, backwards, up, down, sideways, or sit in sheer space.This is because the hummingbird has the ability to rotate its wings in a full circle. Whenever hovering, the hummingbird will move their wings forward and backwards in a repeated figure eight. Hummingbirds even have the ability to fly short distances upside down. This is known as a trick rollover and hummingbirds will use this maneuver whenever they are being attacked by another bird.

The metabolism of the hummingbird and its need for food also make it quite unique within the aviary world as well. If the average man’s metabolism was comparable to that of a hummingbird, he would have to eat 285 pounds of hamburger every day in order to maintain his weight. Hummingbirds eat 5 to 8 times in an hour. Each time the hummingbird feeds only last about 30 to 60 seconds in length. The average hummingbird will consume half its weight in sugar each day. An active hummingbird can starve to death in as little as two hours.

It is for all these reasons that I have declared the remarkable hummingbird to be the Olympic champion of the aviary world. The title seems well earned and I do not ever see any other species of bird dethroning the hummingbird of this title.

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