Fun Magnificent Hummingbird Facts For Kids

How fascinating it is to see a hummingbird buzzing from flower to flower! These wonderful creatures are known for their agile mobility, their rapid wing flaps, and their sudden change in direction while flying. In this very article, we shall learn about a hummingbird that is both magnificent and adorable.

The magnificent hummingbird is the common name of Rivoli's hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens). This purple-violet crown bird inhabits humid woodlands, mountains, and oak forests in the United States. They are multi-colored in nature. The dorsal body of these birds is dark bronze-green colored with a long black bill and tail. Male birds have a dark ventral body, while female birds have an ash-colored ventral body. They weigh around 0.2-0.4 oz (6-10 g) and are 4.3-5.5 in (11-14 cm) long. Males are comparatively larger than females and these hummingbirds generally possess calm behavior until they have trespassers in their territory.

Further in this article, we shall be discussing more interesting and fun facts about this amazing hummingbird. If you like reading bird facts, then do visit our cockatoo facts and bird of paradise facts.

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What type of animal is a magnificent hummingbird?

The magnificent hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) is one of the truly magnificent hummingbirds that inhabits montane pine oak forests in the United States. Belonging to the family Trochilidae, this beautiful Ave class species is well known for its beautiful color patterns.

What class of animal does a magnificent hummingbird belong to?

Rivoli's hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) belong to the class Aves, the family Trochilidae, and the order Apodiformes.

How many magnificent hummingbirds are there in the world?

Hummingbirds are considered to be one of the most diverse bird species on the planet. There is a total of 338 hummingbird species that inhabit this planet. Due to their Least Concern conservation status, the magnificent hummingbird population is not possible to count.

Where does a magnificent hummingbird live?

Rivoli's hummingbird can be found in clearings and along the edges of montane pine-oak forests to an elevation range of 6561.7 ft (2000 m) from sea level. These colorful birds breed in the mountains from the southwest United States to Nicaragua and Honduras.

What is a magnificent hummingbird's habitat?

Magnificent hummingbirds are residents of mountain habitats. They live in humid montane forests, pastures, and open woodlands of Mexico and the US. During the breeding season, they come to southern Arizona and New Mexico.

Who does a magnificent hummingbird live with?

Hummingbirds, in general, are not very social in nature. They have solitary lives and come together only for breeding purposes. These bird species migrate alone as well. Keeping them as pets is not allowed as they do not thrive in enclosed places.

How long does a magnificent hummingbird live?

A Rivoli's hummingbird has an average lifespan of five to six years. They might sometimes live to eight or nine years, but that is a very rare phenomenon.

How do they reproduce?

The typical Magnificent hummingbird range of breeding starts from the southwestern United States to Nicaragua and Honduras. Male birds visit the breeding territory and occupy their territory before female birds arrive. Their breeding season is considered to occur between the months of March and August. May is considered the peak breeding season. Female hummingbirds make the nest and lay their eggs in it. These eggs go through an incubation period of 15-20 days and the young offspring learn to fly in the next 10-15 days.

What is their conservation status?

According to the IUCN list, the magnificent hummingbird's conservation status falls under the category of Least Concern. Their population is thriving well in the fauna.

What do magnificent hummingbirds look like?

Magnificent hummingbirds, like other hummingbirds, carry a variety of dark colors in their body. Males, usually being a little more colorful than female birds, have a vibrant bronze-green upper body and a bronze-black tail. The crown of these birds is purple-violet colored. The color of their throat is similar to the blue-throated hummingbird, but with an extra greenish touch to it. Female birds have an ash-colored ventral body which separates them from male birds in terms of looks. Both sexes have a black long bill, and males are comparatively larger in size.

How cute are they?

Due to their brilliant colors and buzzing sound, a Rivoli's hummingbird's appearance is very beautiful and attractive. Bird lovers find this species very cute and adorable.

How do they communicate?

Magnificent hummingbirds are not very loud. They call or communicate through a soft and small trill. This bird species lives in solitary and forms pairs for breeding purposes. Magnificent hummingbird calls sound like small chirps only.

How big is a magnificent hummingbird?

Rivoli's hummingbirds are moderately small in size. They grow to a length range of 4.3-5.5 in (11-14 cm) and can weigh to a range of 0.2-0.4 oz (6-10 g). They have a magnificent wingspan of around 7.2 in (18.3 cm).

How fast can a magnificent hummingbird fly?

Rivoli's hummingbird lives at a high altitude and thus can fly high and fast. Hummingbirds have an average flight speed of 20-30 mph (32-48 kph) and can reach up to an elevation of 13123 ft (4000 m) above sea level. The buzzing sound they make while flying is because of the rapid gust of their wings.

How much does a magnificent hummingbird weigh?

The weight range of a Rivoli's hummingbird varies between 0.2-0.4 oz (6-10 g).

What are their male and female names of the species?

The male Rivoli's hummingbird is bigger in size than a female. However, there are no separate names for males and females.

What would you call a baby magnificent hummingbird?

Baby hummingbirds are known as chicks.

What do they eat?

This diverse species of birds faces no real difficulty in feeding itself. Rivoli's hummingbirds take nectar as their prime food. Other than nectar, they tend to eat insects as well. Male birds dominate over a selected territory for feeding. They portray tranquil behavior but can be aggressive at times. They collect nectar from flowering plants through their long bill, and if another bird invades their territory, they become angry. Magnificent hummingbirds have a natural rivalry with the blue-throated hummingbird species.

Are they poisonous?

The magnificent hummingbird species is decent tempered by appearance and they bear no poison. They don't really cause harm to humans. The blue-throated hummingbird species and some other birds are their natural rivals.

Would they make a good pet?

Keeping hummingbirds as pets is not allowed in many places, and it is not the right thing to do as hummingbirds are experts in flying and can't survive in captivity.

Did you know...

Taxonomic experts have divided the genus Eugenes into two separate species. Namely the northern Eugenes fulgens and the southern Eugenes spectabilis. The Eugenes spectabilis is bigger in size.

This hummingbird species was first known as Rivoli's hummingbird, but ornithologists renamed it as the magnificent hummingbird as a common name. Later in the year 2017, when specialists separated the Eugenes species (Eugenes fulgens and Eugenes spectabilis), they brought back the name Rivoli's hummingbird. From then on, the common names given to these relative bird species are Rivoli's hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) and Talamanca hummingbird (Eugenes spectabilis).

Hummingbirds are a one-of-a-kind bird species and have some interesting facts that give them a special place amongst other birds. One of the most interesting hummingbird facts is that hummingbirds are the only bird species that can fly backward.

The name 'hummingbird' comes from the humming sound they make while flying. While normally flying, a hummingbird beats its wings around 70-80 times.

Hummingbirds have an extraordinary vision. They can see in bright light, and their vision is better than that of a human.

Hummingbirds can't really walk. They have small legs that they use only for perching or sitting.

Hummingbirds are said to be the smallest migratory birds in the world.

What is the rarest hummingbird?

According to many censuses, Esmeralda's woodstar is one of the rarest hummingbird species on earth. It is one of the smallest birds in the world, along with the bee hummingbird, with a length of barely 2.5 in (6.35 cm). Due to rapid habitat destruction, their population is decreasing day by day.

Are they predators?

Calling Rivoli's hummingbird a predator won't be correct as they eat insects only, and they mostly feed on nectar. Insects may be afraid of them, but there are species from which they (magnificent hummingbirds) are also afraid. They fear birds like hawks and owls, who often hunt them.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our great green macaw facts and secretary bird facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable magnificent hummingbird coloring pages.