Product Brochure

WHAT HUMMINGBIRDS EAT
Hummingbirds are well known for sipping nectar with their barbed tongues,
licking 10-15 times per second, but they actually eat many things. When
there isn’t enough nectar, hummingbirds will lick at sap or fruit juices. They
also eat small insects, insect eggs, and spiders, which provide critical
protein and minerals for healthy growth. Hummingbirds even ingest some
pollen from flowers they visit. A hummingbird feeds 5-8 times per hour,
and their bodies are very efficient at digesting sugars and turning food into
energy.
MIGRATION
Many tropical hummingbirds do not migrate, but most hummers that visit
the United States do move north in spring and south in fall. They head
north as early as February or March, and start their journeys south in late
July or August. Depending on the species, a hummingbird may migrate
hundreds or thousands of miles, and the rufous hummingbird has the longest
migration. These small birds move from their winter range in Mexico to their
breeding range in Alaska and Canada, a one-way journey of more than
3,000 miles. They don’t have the only spectacular hummingbird migration,
however – many ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate directly over the Gulf
of Mexico, a nonstop trip of 500 miles before they can rest and refuel.