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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Hummingbird Resources
Hummingbird Society
Audubon Society
American Bird Conservancy
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Operation Ruby Throat
The Hummingbird Monitoring Network