Watch a hummingbird at the feeder and it seems to run on pure electricity. It zips in, hovers, darts away, and zips back again. Everything about it is fast. So it's natural to assume such a tiny, high-speed creature must have a very short life.
Here's the surprise. Among the better-known North American species, a typical hummingbird lives about 3 to 5 years. Many die in their first year, especially in the risky stretch between hatching and leaving the nest, but those that make it past that can sometimes live a decade or more. For animals with such racing metabolisms, that's an unusually long life.
The Record Holders
Scientists learn how long hummingbirds live by putting tiny bands on them and recapturing them years later. The longest recorded lifespan in the wild belongs to a female broad-tailed hummingbird. She was banded as an adult at least a year old and recaptured 11 years later, making her at least 12.
Other records are impressive too. A female black-chinned hummingbird reached at least 10 years and 1 month, and a larger buff-bellied hummingbird lived at least 11 years and 2 months. The ruby-throated hummingbird, the most common species in the eastern U.S., usually lives 3 to 5 years, but one banded bird made it to 9 years and 2 months.
For comparison, the smallest shrews, among the tiniest mammals on Earth, rarely live past 2 years. Even the bee hummingbird, the world's smallest bird at about 2 inches long, can live 7 to 10 years. For a creature that small, with a body running that fast, it's a remarkably long run.
Life in the Fast Lane
Hummingbirds have the highest metabolic rate for their size of any warm-blooded animal. One blue-throated hummingbird's heart was measured at up to 1,260 beats per minute, while it breathed 250 times a minute at rest.
To keep that engine running, they eat a lot. On a day of sipping nectar, a hummingbird can take in water equal to five times its body weight. Their kidneys have to work overtime to handle it all. By burning freshly eaten sugar to power their flight, they save their small fat stores for long nights and migration.
The Secret: Power Naps
So how do they survive that pace? One trick is torpor, a deep, hibernation-like rest. At night or when food is scarce, a hummingbird can slow its metabolism to about one-fifteenth of normal.
Heart rates that top 1,000 beats a minute during the day can slow to around 50 to 180 beats a minute. In the Andes, one hummingbird's body temperature dropped to about 38 degrees Fahrenheit overnight, the lowest known for any bird or non-hibernating mammal. By morning, it warms back up and gets right back to work.
Tiny Travelers
Some hummingbirds are also champion travelers. The rufous hummingbird migrates about 3,900 miles between Alaska and Mexico, one of the longest migrations of any bird. Ruby-throated hummingbirds fly nonstop about 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico, after fattening up to as much as double their usual weight.
Sadly, several North American species have declined since 1970, with threats like habitat loss, window collisions, cats, and pesticides. So keep that feeder clean and full. The tiny visitor buzzing past your window may have years of adventures behind it, and with a little help, many more ahead.
