These beautiful hummingbird pictures will hopefully inspire you to do what you can to help protect these sublime little birds. Weighing in at just 4 grams (which is less than the weight of two pennies), these tiny birds beat their wings 80 times every second. And their hearts beat, on average, 1,260 beat per minute! (Farmer’s Almanac)

Threats to Hummingbirds

As is happening to bird species worldwide, hummingbirds are under threat for a number of human-caused reasons, so it’s up to us to do what we can to help them. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global source of conservation information for animals, fungi, and plant species, hummingbirds are threatened for reasons that include:

• Loss of habitat
• Pesticide use
• Changing temperatures from climate change, which disrupt their migratory patterns
• Invasive, non-native plants that prevent native plants from growing, which hummingbirds rely on for nectar
• Domestic and feral cats

Today, 37 species, which is 10 percent of all hummingbird species, are threatened with extinction, according to Defenders of Wildlife. At the end of this post, you’ll find additional resources on what you can do to help hummingbirds.

Beautiful Hummingbird Photos

Here are a few of my favorite hummingbird photos from Instagram. Be sure to follow the generous photographers who shared these lovely photos!

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A post shared by ?DREAM LIFE COSTA RICA? (@dream.life.costa.rica) on Jan 19, 2019 at 5:20am PST

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A post shared by Leonardo Hall R. (@leonardo_hall_r_photo) on Jan 21, 2019 at 8:55am PST

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A post shared by lulu (@hachidori2006) on Jan 19, 2019 at 8:14pm PST

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A post shared by Andres Delgado (@tatan.delgado) on Jan 20, 2019 at 10:46am PST

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A post shared by CareyJo Titus (@wildatheartphotography) on Jan 21, 2019 at 12:03pm PST

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A post shared by Laura (@myhummingbirdheaven) on Jan 21, 2019 at 11:59am PST

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A post shared by Adam Rainoff Photographer (@arainoffphoto) on Jan 21, 2019 at 11:44am PST

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A post shared by Nicolas Murillo (@nicolas_murillo_r) on Jan 21, 2019 at 10:52am PST

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A post shared by Birds (@birds_photos_insta) on Jan 21, 2019 at 9:08am PST

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A post shared by Dorian Anderson (@dorian_anderson_photography) on Jan 20, 2019 at 6:07am PST

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A post shared by Vikki’s Hummingbirds (@newportbeachtweet) on Jan 20, 2019 at 8:05am PST

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A post shared by The Magic Birding Circuit (@magic.birding) on Jan 21, 2019 at 2:02am PST

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A post shared by Laura (@myhummingbirdheaven) on Jan 21, 2019 at 11:59am PST

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A post shared by Sofía García H (@sofiagah) on Jan 21, 2019 at 9:03am PST

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A post shared by Forest Fory Graham (@forygraham1) on Jan 21, 2019 at 8:55am PST

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A post shared by Regiane Ferreira (@regianeferreira_photo) on Jan 21, 2019 at 8:02am PST

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A post shared by Ty (@fawlingfeatherz) on Jan 21, 2019 at 6:52am PST

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A post shared by Ignacio Yúfera (@ignacio_yufera) on Jan 22, 2019 at 5:15am PST

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A post shared by kevin (@km_walsh) on Jan 21, 2019 at 3:22am PST

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A post shared by Bieds (@birds_world_ig) on Jan 21, 2019 at 3:28am PST

Hummingbird Resources

Hummingbird Society

Audubon Society

American Bird Conservancy

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Operation Ruby Throat

The Hummingbird Monitoring Network