The fiery throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) is one of the smallest birds on Earth and is called Colibrí Garganta de Fuego in Spanish. It is a medium-sized hummingbird with a straight black bill and dusky feet.
They are found mostly in Western Panama and Costa Rica. Fiery-throated hummingbirds live a solitary life or in a pair. A fiery-throated hummingbird's size is somewhere around 4.3 in (10.92 cm) and they live for up to 10 years.
Look at these interesting facts; if you like these, do read our bee hummingbird facts and calliope hummingbird facts too.
Fiery Throated hummingbird Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a fiery throated hummingbird?
The fiery throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) is one of the smallest birds on Earth and is called Colibrí Garganta de Fuego in Spanish. It is said to be the only known member of the genus Panterpe. It is a medium-sized hummingbird with a straight black bill and dusky feet.
What class of animal does a fiery throated hummingbird belong to?
The fiery throated hummingbird belongs to the Aves class.
How many fiery throated hummingbirds are there in the world?
There is no such estimate of the total number of fiery throated hummingbirds in the world, but we can assume that they are present in huge numbers as they are found in abundance. Also, their conservation status is stated to be of Least Concern. So, there is no immediate danger to their population.
Where does a fiery throated hummingbird live?
The fiery throated hummingbird is common to abundant in the tropical and subtropical forests and grasslands. Therefore, this is also where they are mostly found.
What is a fiery throated hummingbird's habitat?
The fiery-throated hummingbird is common in montane forests canopy above 4593 ft (1400 m), woodland edges, and clearings or rootlets under a bank. These areas have high humidity levels, which are more suitable for this bird species. Fiery-throated hummingbird locations include North Costa Rica, Central Costa Rica, South Panama to Western Panama.
Who do fiery throated hummingbirds live with?
Fiery-throated hummingbirds prefer to stay solitary in all aspects of life other than breeding. They neither live nor move in herds, and there is no pair-bonding for this species.
How long does a fiery throated hummingbird live?
Their lifespan is estimated to be somewhere around five years. As with other creatures involved, the survival rate of these birds can be threatened by other animals, predators, or deforestation.
However, their life span can be increased remarkably if they are kept in cages or if they get a caring owner who can take good care of their health and diet and keep them safe.
How do they reproduce?
The fiery throated hummingbird mating season begins in December, and the breeding usually lasts until May or June. They have their babies in May or June.
Thus, the female fiery throated hummingbird is totally liable for home nesting and hatching. Female fiery throated hummingbird lays white eggs whose size is equal to that of a coffee bean.
Female lays two white eggs in a bulky plant fiber cup nest somewhere close to a rootlet under a bank. Hatching of fiery throated hummingbird eggs requires 15–19 days, and fledging from its family takes another 20–26.
What is their conservation status?
The fiery-throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) is a bird species with the conservation status of Least Concern in its natural habitat.
Fiery Throated hummingbird Fun facts
What do fiery throated hummingbirds look like?
The adult fiery throated hummingbird's characteristics include a glowing green body plumage, a dark blue tail, and a white spot behind each eye. It has a splendid crown of blue color, a yellow-lined coppery orange throat, and a blue chest patch.
The color of their sides and back of its head are velvety dark. Both males and females look alike. Immature birds have rufous colored fringes as their head feathers.
How cute are they?
The fiery throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) is very cute and lovable, especially the purple fiery throated hummingbird. Their colorful feathers and the bright combination of their neck makes them even more charming and an extremely cute species of birds.
How big is a fiery throated hummingbird?
The fiery throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) is a very small species in terms of height and length. The height of a fiery throated hummingbird ranges between 4.3-4.8 in (10.9-12.1 cm), which is a bit bigger than the height of an average hummingbird, which ranges between 3-5 in (7.5-13 cm).
How fast can a fiery throated hummingbird fly?
The beating speed of a medium-sized throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) wing is so quick (around 75 beats per second) that they produce a humming sound. However, their exact flying speed is unknown.
How much does a fiery throated hummingbird weigh?
Normally, a fiery throated hummingbird (Panterpe insignis) weighs only about 1.97 oz (56 g) which is a lot heavier than the weight of an average hummingbird which is just 0.14 oz (4g).
What are the male and female names of the species?
Male and female fiery throated hummingbirds do not have different names.
What would you call a baby fiery throated hummingbird?
Baby fiery throated hummingbirds are called chicks.
What do they eat?
Fiery throated hummingbirds essentially feed on nectar taken from an assortment of splendidly shaded, scented little blossoms of trees, small flowers, and bushes. They favor blossoms and flowers with the most sugar content.
They utilize their long, extendible, straw-like tongues to extract the nectar while drifting. Their tails are vertically positioned, licking at the nectar taken from the flowers up to 13 times each second.
Are they dangerous?
Adult fiery throated hummingbirds are responsible for establishing feeding territories (for its family). They aggressively hunt other male hummingbirds or large insects, that is, bumblebees, hawkmoths that try to feed in their territory. The males defend Flowers and Scrubs in their feeding territories against other males, using aerial flights to defend them.
Would they make a good pet?
It is illegal to keep hummingbirds as a pet. They are also protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Unless you have a special permit, you are not allowed to trap or keep a hummingbird or her egg.
Did you know...
Three interesting facts are:
Hummingbirds are acrobats, they are the only birds that can fly in different directions.
A hummingbird's metabolism is nearly 100 times faster than that of an elephant.
Hummingbirds migrate every year, even after being one of the smallest birds.
How many feathers does a fiery throated hummingbird have?
Hummingbirds have approximately 1000-1500 feathers in total. However, they are known to have the fewest number of feathers among other bird species worldwide.
How do most hummingbirds die?
Hummingbirds die in many ways, which includes being caught by predators (domestic cats), flying right into various objects (especially windows and buildings), getting hit by vehicles, facing problems during migration, bad weather, capitulating to disease or other physical sicknesses, or dying due to old age.
In addition, male birds of the family apparently do not live as long as females.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals from our black-footed cat facts and calliope hummingbird facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Fiery throated hummingbird coloring pages.