You know hummingbirds are tiny birds, but their extra small size may surprise you. Get the answer from the experts: How much does a hummingbird weigh?
Hummingbird Size: How Much Does a Hummingbird Weigh?
Updated Mar. 15, 2022
How Much Does a Hummingbird Weigh?
Hummingbirds seem so small and delicate as they zip, dart and dash from feeders to flowers. You may wonder how much does a hummingbird weigh? A tiny hummingbird typically weighs 0.1 to 0.2 ounces (less than the weight of a marshmallow). Costa’s, like this male (above), weigh in at only one-tenth of an ounce. Their crouched posture makes them look even smaller.
Did you know: A hummingbird’s brain makes up around 4% of its body weight. It remembers every flower it visits! How do hummingbirds find feeders?
Discover even more jaw-dropping facts about hummingbirds.
Hummingbird Size
The bee hummingbird of Cuba is the smallest bird on earth, measuring only 2 inches from bill tip to tail tip. In contrast, the blue-throated hummingbird is almost the size of a sparrow. It is the largest breeding hummingbird found in the U.S.
Most types of hummingbirds measure between 3 and 4 inches. In the United States, Allen’s hummingbirds are the second smallest species after the Calliopes. Allen’s measure about 3 inches long. Anna’s hummingbirds are also quite small in size, measuring about 3.9 inches from beak to tail.
A broad-tailed hummingbird‘s tail is slightly wider and longer than that of most other hummingbirds found in the U.S. and Canada, extending beyond the wingtips when the bird is perched and resting.
Psst—if you see an insect-sized hummingbird look-alike visiting nectar flowers at dusk, it might actually be a hummingbird moth!
Meet the world’s largest and smallest hummingbirds.
Bill Length
“After watching hummingbirds at my feeders, I noticed that males put their bills farther into the sugar water than females. Do females have longer bills?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Pat Comack of Hazelwood, Missouri.
Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman: That’s an interesting observation! Female ruby-throated hummingbirds do have a slightly longer bill, on average, than males. The difference is so minor—less than one-tenth of an inch— that most people would never notice. The females also average slightly larger bills overall.
Originally Published: March 15, 2022
