When the Spanish first saw hummingbirds in the New World, they called them joyas voladoras; flying jewels. Hummingbirds are often described as gem-like or jewel-like because of their brilliant iridescent coloring. Some hummingbirds are iridescent all over while on others, the brightest colors appear on the gorget, an area on the front of the bird's neck. Commonly the female birds do not exhibit the brightest colors, but they still have an iridescent sheen about them.

The color on a hummingbird isn't caused by pigment in their feathers. Instead, the top layer of a feather is covered with special cells that break up light. As the birds hover and dive, light strikes the cells in their feathers at just the right angle and suddenly you see a flash of brilliant color-a flying jewel!.

Did you know that hummingbirds are only found in the South, Central and Northern Americas? There are no hummingbirds in Europe, Asia, Africa or Hawaii. There have been fossils of hummingbirds found in Gera number of, but why these birds became extinct in the eastern hemisphere isn't known. There are 16 species of hummingbirds that breed in North America, mostly in the western and southwestern regions of the US.



Posted by: Kelly    Source