Fun Anna's Hummingbird Facts For Kids

The Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) is medium-sized species in the family of hummingbirds. It is native to North America's western coastal regions but now they are found in southern California regions and Baja California.

Due to imported plantations on the Pacific coast, these birds are found in residential areas or backyard gardens where they are being fed by hummingbird feeders.

These North American birds have an iridescent greenish-black or grayish-white belly and chest and green sides with a slender bill. Adult birds have a crown and a gorget with colorful tail feathers whereas, females have an overall dusky appearance, a green head, and a rounded tail.

This bird is a unique species as no other birds in the family of hummingbirds have a red-colored crown. Anna's hummingbirds eat nectar from flowering plants and prey on flying insects.

Females start to prepare their nests by mid-December, with various materials and spider webs which take around two weeks to complete. The male bird and the female bird meet only during the mating period and separate immediately.

After that, the female raises her young ones alone. The hatchlings remain dependent on their mothers for two weeks for food and after that they achieve independence.

After leaving the nest, Anna's hummingbirds live in pairs, usually siblings. However, they maintain their territories by fall.

If you are interested to learn more fun facts about some other birds, check out little crow and black-billed cuckoo.

Anna's Hummingbird Interesting Facts

What type of animal is Anna's hummingbird?

Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) is a type of bird.

What class of animal does Anna's hummingbird belong to?

Anna's hummingbird belongs to the class of Aves.

How many Anna's hummingbirds are there in the world?

Approximately 1.5 million individual species of Anna's hummingbirds are found in the world.

Where does Anna's hummingbird live?

Anna's hummingbird lives in western Baja California and southern California.

What is Anna's hummingbird's habitat?

Anna's hummingbird habitat is varied. They live in places like open oak woodland, coastal sage, forests, grassland, and desert.

The traditional habitat of this bird is chaparral which is vegetation consisting chiefly of broad-leaved evergreen tangled shrubs, bushes, and tiny trees less than 8 ft (2.4 m) tall forming dense thickets. This type of vegetation is found in regions with hot dry summers and mild, wet winters.

In recent years, this species is often seen in the backyard or in suburban gardens where exotic plantings in the garden have attracted this bird. They are provided with food throughout the year by the hummingbird feeders.

Who do Anna's hummingbirds live with?

Anna's hummingbirds are not social animals and they live on their own. However, young ones tend to stay in pairs, usually with their siblings, immediately after leaving the nest.

How long does Anna's hummingbird live?

The lifespan of Anna's hummingbirds is three to five years.

How do they reproduce?

Anna's hummingbird species reproduces in wooded areas or mountain meadows. Female Anna's hummingbirds raise the young ones without the help of their partner.

They build a circular nest with downy feathers, plant fibers, animal hair, plant debris, and sometimes with urban waste like paint chips, and papers. The spider webs help all the materials of the nest to be bounded together.

The breeding season of this bird starts in the middle of December and continues to May or June.

A male Anna's hummingbird often sings during the courtship in a squeaky, thin voice. During this season, males perform aerial dives hovering in mid-air over their respective territories to chase away competitors and attract their potential mates.

Males rise about 60-130 ft (18.3-40 m) at a speed of 8.8-24.6 ft (2.7-7.5 m) per second when the female arrives. When the male reaches the female, it abruptly pulls up in front of her and its wings produce a loud popping sound and separates immediately.

The eggs are incubated by only the females for 16 to 17 days. The young are born blind and immobile and they are protected and fed by their mothers.

The chicks are brooded and then left alone probably due to the small size of their nests. Finally, the chicks leave the nest when they are about 18 to 26 days old.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of these Anna's hummingbird birds is Least Concern stated by the IUCN Red List as they are found in abundance. The overall population of these North American birds seems increasing and they are not considered to be threatened yet. Although climate change could be a potential threat to this species.

Anna's Hummingbird Fun Facts

What do Anna's hummingbirds look like?

Anna's hummingbird is 3.9-4.3 in (10-11 cm) long with a wingspan of 4.7 in (12 cm). It has a greenish-black or grayish-white belly and chest and green sides with a slender bill.

Adult birds have a shimmering rosy-red crown and a gorget that extends up to the backside and a dark, v-shaped tail. Females have an overall dusky appearance with a greenish back, a gray throat patch with a small amount of red in it, a green head, and a rounded tail.

How cute are they?

Anna's hummingbirds are extremely cute, tiny birds with colorful tail feathers.  Their long, straight bill adds to their beauty.

How do they communicate?

Anna's hummingbirds chirp and chatter throughout the day, giving a warning signal to other hummers to stay away from their territory. Males are more aggressive when it comes to defending their food and producing squeaky sounds to keep it safe. During their courtship, males sing songs in a thin and squeaky voice hovering over their territory.

How big is Anna's hummingbird?

The length of Anna's hummingbirds is about 3.9-4.3 in (9.9-10.9 cm). These birds are about three times smaller than sparrows, the length of which is 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm).

How fast can Anna's hummingbird fly?

The tiny Anna's hummingbird reaches a top speed of 60 mph (97 kph) and at the fastest point of the dives, it covers 385 times its body length every second. The hummingbird can even fly faster than a jet fighter.

How much does Anna's hummingbird weigh?

Anna's hummingbird weighs about 0.1-0.2 oz (3-6 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Males and females of this species of hummingbirds are called cock and hen respectively.

What would you call a baby Anna's hummingbird?

A baby Anna's hummingbird is a called chick and resembles a tiny feather ball.

What do they eat?

Anna's hummingbird eats nectar from flowering plants such as gooseberry, manzanita, and eucalyptus using their long extendable tongue. These birds are known to small insects and other arthropods as well. Mainly they prey on flying insects by aiming at the insect and then capturing the prey with their beaks.

These hummingbirds eat more than any other North American hummingbirds. Anna's hummingbirds can consume up to 50% of their weight in nectar each day. They particularly like to eat fuchsias, desert willows, and eucalyptus.

Are they dangerous?

Anna's hummingbirds are known for their territorial behavior. They fiercely defend their babies and chase away intruders. There has been a record of showing aggressive behavior towards humans whenever these birds feel threatened.

Would they make a good pet?

Anna's hummingbirds are not very social but they can make a good pet. As per recent studies, they are mostly found in suburban or backyard gardens where they are fed by hummingbird feeders. The exotic plants in the residential areas throughout the Pacific coast allow these birds to expand their breeding range.

Did you know...

Anna's hummingbird wings beat about 40 to 50 times per second in normal flights.

The color of the crown and the throat of this bird appear to change when a male Anna's hummingbird turns its head.

These birds are no larger than a ping-pong ball and no heavier than a nickel.

Anna's hummingbird eggs are roughly the size and shape of a candy.

Anna's hummingbird plucks spiders and traps insects that are trapped in spider webs.

Anna's Hummingbird was named after the 19th-century Italian Duchess, Anna De Belle Massena.

Do Anna's hummingbirds migrate?

Anna's hummingbird migration is different from other migrating birds. They do migrate but they don't migrate north to south. Instead, they move to higher elevations in summer and lower elevations in winter. They migrate less than all other species of hummingbirds.

How do Anna's hummingbirds create their nests?

Females prepare the house all by themselves without the help of males, usually on a horizontal branch of oak, sycamore, eucalyptus trees, or shrubs. They build the nest with various materials such as downy feathers, plant fibers, animal hair, plant debris, and sometimes with urban waste like paint chips, and papers.

They sit inside it and build the cup rim around itself. Also, they decorate the outside of the nest with lichens, mosses,  and paint chips.

It takes around a week to complete the 1 in (2.5 cm) tall and 1.5 in (3.8 cm) diameter space. Spider webs help all the materials of the nest to be bounded together.

This species does not reuse their nests but they recycle the old nest material to make a new one. A male and a female bird only meet during the mating process and separate immediately.

Typically, there are one or two eggs per nest. Anna's hummingbird nest is slightly bigger than the size of a walnut.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including sparrowhawk, or European robin.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing on Anna's hummingbird coloring pages.