The hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world and has 334 species, its tiny body of just under 300 grams can capture a myriad of colors, which is why it is considered one of the most fascinating birds in the world.
Il hummingbird it is the smallest bird in the world and has 334 species, its tiny body of just under 300 grams can capture a myriad of colors, for this reason it is considered as one of the most fascinating birds in the world.
The hummingbird lives in the American continent, particularly in South America where ancient civilizations loved to associate it with legends and numerous symbologies. According to the American peoples, the hummingbird was there reincarnation of warriors given the aggressiveness and speed in flying from one side to the other.
We had already told you about the Mayan legend of the hummingbird, according to which feathers were considered magical and the birds themselves were sacred creatures that possessed healing powers.
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- Aztecs they loved them so much that they dedicated a temple to blue hummingbird god, the Nazca people often depicted him throughout extraordinary beauty that we can admire in these photographs, which represent the different species.
The hummingbird belongs to the family of Trochilides and it can be even smaller than moths and butterflies with which they share the tropical forest. Many experts swear that no other bird can compete with its colors.
Hummingbird, the secret of its colors
And even on this, there is a particularity. There bird coloring in the vast majority of cases it derives from the combination of melanins, carotenoids, lipochromes and porphyrins.
For example, the melanin colors the feathers black or pale yellow or reddish brown. The bright red, orange, yellow of canaries are given by carotenoids and lipochromes, substances present in plants that birds eat and so on.
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Still, some birds such as parrots have lees directly colored feathers, while the colors of the hummingbirds are due to decomposition of light in its facets, a phenomenon known as "interference".
In practice, thanks toTyndall effect, the diffraction of light is phased out into two colored reflection beams, causing the appearance of complementary colors to the chromatic components eliminated by the phase shift.
The colors of the hummingbird also allow him to blend in with the flowers, escaping predators such as snakes, more formidable enemies. The very long beak allows it to suck the nectar, while despite its small size a hummingbird can fly even to 100 kilometers per hour.
Another feature are the stunts of the hummingbird made possible by the articulated wings that adapt to the angles, in short, beautiful animals that nature once again gives us.
Dominella Trunfio
