Photo: Oiseaux The bee bird is the smallest bird in the world: only the size of a bee, body less than 5cm long, weighing about 2g, distributed in the jungles of South America and Central America. When it flies looking for honey, it also calls “o. o. …” like a bee.
There are many varieties of bee birds, about more than 300 varieties. Feather colors include green, blue, black, yellow, etc. (up to more than 10 colors), so they have different names such as: magic bird, comet bird, forest nymph bird, flower queen bird. ..Birds are small, very beautiful, and fly well. Wings beat 50-70 times/second. The flight speed is very fast, up to 50km/h, 4-5 thousand meters high. People often only hear its flying sound, rarely see it. The strange thing is: its heart beats up to 615 times/minute. It not only flies high and fast but also flies very far.
Every year the red-breasted bee-bird flies across the Gulf of Mexico continuously for more than 800km. Bees eat nectar and small insects. It has a needle-shaped suction beak and a tongue that sticks out and rolls in comfortably. When sucking nectar, it first uses its beak to spread out the flowers, then uses its tongue to lick the honey disc. It often sucks nectar and pollinates loquats, motherworts, bluebells… it can be said to be the most industrious “farmer” in the world. Birds and bees build their nests on trees. The nest is very beautiful, elegant and delicate like a fine art textile, looking up it looks like a small wine glass. The female bird lays 2 eggs at a time, only about the size of a pea, each egg is only about 0.15g; It is estimated that about 200 new bee eggs are equal to one normal chicken egg. It takes 14-20 days to hatch, and the newly hatched bee birds can fly off to search for food alone.
The bee bird is the symbol of Trimidad and Tobago, expressing the hardworking spirit of the people of this country.