Bee hummingbird

Bee hummingbirds live in Cuba, a warm island in the sea.

They like thick forests with lots of bushes and flowers.

The bee hummingbird is found only in Cuba, an island in the Caribbean Sea. Long ago it lived all over the island, but today it is rare and found in just a few areas: the far west (the Guanahacabibes Peninsula and Sierra del Rosario), the Zapata Swamp, and the mountains of the far east.

It lives mostly in thick, old forests and at the edges of woodland with many bushes. It depends on old forest with vines and plants growing on the trees.

The IUCN (2021) lists the species as endemic to Cuba, with a vagrant record from the Bahamas. Once widespread across Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud, it has disappeared from much of its range and now persists mainly in three areas: the Guanahacabibes Peninsula and Sierra del Rosario in the west, the Zapata Swamp and surroundings, and Holguín, Santiago and Guantánamo in the east, which the IUCN treats as three subpopulations.

It occurs primarily in dense forest and woodland edges with plenty of bushes, occasionally in swamp, scrub and gardens, but depends heavily on mature forest with lianas and epiphytes.

Bee hummingbirds drink sweet nectar from flowers.

They hover in the air while they drink. They also eat tiny bugs and spiders.

Bee hummingbirds feed on nectar, the sweet juice inside flowers. They hover in front of a flower, push in their thin bill and lap up the nectar with a long tongue. They also catch tiny insects and spiders.

Because they burn energy so fast, they eat a lot for their size: about their own weight in nectar and insects every day. Males guard patches of flowers and chase away other males, bumblebees and moths.

The IUCN notes the species feeds on relatively small, generalized flowers, competing with other hummingbirds and with insects for nectar (Dalsgaard et al. 2012). Animal Diversity Web reports a long, protractile tongue, a preference for nectar of 15 to 30 percent sucrose, and a diet supplemented with insects and spiders.

A fast metabolism means a high intake: Animal Diversity Web states birds consume about their body weight in nectar and insects each day and spend up to 15 percent of their time feeding. Males defend feeding territories, chasing other males, bumblebees and hawk moths.

Male bee hummingbirds are brave.

They chase other hummingbirds and even bumblebees away from their flowers. When it is time to nest, the males sing to find a mate.

Male bee hummingbirds are fierce about their food. Each one guards a feeding territory and chases off other males, bumblebees and big moths that try to sip from his flowers.

In the breeding season, males gather in groups and sing to attract females. Their songs can be short warbles or a few repeated notes. Females visit and choose a mate based on how well he performs.

Animal Diversity Web describes males establishing feeding territories and aggressively chasing other males, bumblebees and hawk moths. During the breeding season males form leks, groups of singing males, whose songs range from brief warbles to repeated notes; females visit several leks and choose a mate on performance.

Breeding is timed to flowering: Animal Diversity Web links it to the flowering of a preferred nectar plant. It also notes that birds may make seasonal movements in response to the abundance and distribution of flowers.

There are fewer bee hummingbirds than before.

They need old forests with lots of flowers. Parks in Cuba help keep them safe.

The bee hummingbird is near threatened. It used to live all over Cuba, but much of Cuba's natural forest has been turned into farms and cattle pastures, and the birds have disappeared from many places. Growing cacao, coffee and tobacco farms add to the problem.

Today it lives in several protected areas in Cuba. Protecting and restoring old forests, and helping people learn about this tiny bird, are among the actions the IUCN recommends.

BirdLife International's 2021 assessment for the IUCN Red List (assessed 23 March 2021) lists the species as Near Threatened: it is declining moderately rapidly through forest loss and degradation, with the decline tentatively put at 20 to 29 percent over ten years, and it may qualify for uplisting when better data arrive. The population is estimated at about 22,000 to 66,000 mature individuals.

About 5 percent of habitat in its range was lost in ten years, and only 15 to 20 percent of Cuba's land remains in a natural state. The species is on CITES Appendix II and occurs in several protected areas; the IUCN calls for population surveys, habitat protection and restoration, and awareness-raising.