Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Aves

Xantu's Hummingbird Hylocharis xantusii

The tiny hummingbird has several unique features. It is the only bird whose wings are built to move forwards and backwards. Its bill is built for sipping nectar from flowers, and thus is exceedingly long and thin. Hummingbirds have very small legs and feet, as they spend most of their time in flight. In addition, many hummers have patches of iridescent or glittering plumage on their bodies. Hummingbirds live only in the New World, ranging from Alaska to southern Chile. The Xantu's Hummingbird, pictured here, is unusual because it only inhabits the Baja California peninsula. Unlike more common hummers, this one has adapted to severe desert conditions. One way it survives in a dry environment is to drink the juice of certain thick-skinned cactus fruits that have been munched on by other animals.

~A Fly in the Sky © 1996