Have you ever thought about how all animals bodies have probably adapted through the years to meet their lifestyle and habitat requirements? This had never occurred to me before doing some research on hummingbirds. The hummingbird’s body has gone through such an evolution to meet its lifestyle and habitat requirements. It amazes me that an animal can do so in an effort to survive.
How is a hummingbird’s body adapted to its lifestyle and habitat? The pectoral or flight muscles of a hummingbird accounts for ¼ of its total body weight. In humans, the pectoral muscles account for 5 percent of our total body weight. The muscle fibers in hummingbird pectoral muscles enables hummingbirds to keep a rich supply of blood and oxygen flowing into their muscles as they fly, so they don’t tire even with their rapid wing rate. Their beaks are designed to probe into many species of small flowers and to snap up tiny flying insects. The hummingbird laps up nectar by flicking its long, forked tongue deep within a flower at rates up to ten times per second. Its efficiency as a pollinator is comparable to that of a honey bee.
I hope that you will find this information to be interesting and even educational. I know that I discovered some things about the hummingbird that I didn’t know before. Is it fascinating how the animals of the world have adapted through the years? Let me know what you think.