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00:00:08
In South America lives a group of00:00:11
extraordinary00:00:12
[Music]00:00:20
animals. They are amongst the most00:00:23
spectacular creatures on Earth.00:00:32
[Music]00:00:39
They have fascinated us for as long as00:00:42
we've known of them.00:00:45
[Music]00:00:51
[Applause]00:00:52
[Music]00:00:53
They are00:00:55
hummingbirds and their glittering colors00:00:58
and their prowess in the air are00:01:01
[Music]00:01:07
unmatched. They are the celebrities, the00:01:11
stars of the bird world.00:01:22
[Music]00:01:38
But what do we know about these unique00:01:41
birds? Well, they are tiny, dwarfed by a00:01:45
scientist's hand, amongst the smallest00:01:48
warm-blooded animals on00:01:59
Earth. And we can see that they live00:02:01
their lives in the fast lane. In flight,00:02:04
they are just a blur.00:02:17
It's only when you slow down their00:02:19
supercharged lives that you can begin to00:02:22
understand how they00:02:27
live. High-speed cameras reduce the00:02:30
speed of the action. 1 second stretches00:02:33
out to 50 and enables us to look into00:02:36
the secret world of the00:02:38
[Music]00:02:42
hummingbird. Much of their lives still00:02:44
remains a mystery. What we do know is00:02:48
that hummingbirds depend on flowers for00:02:50
their food. Nectar fuels their frenetic00:02:54
lives and that hummingbirds are only00:02:56
found in the new world.00:02:59
Most live in South America. And this is00:03:02
where our story00:03:07
starts. Here, many plants employ00:03:10
hummingbirds as messengers. But this00:03:13
wasn't the original00:03:18
contract. When flowers first evolved00:03:21
over 60 million years ago, there were no00:03:24
hummingbirds.00:03:28
The first flowering plants depended on00:03:30
insects as their00:03:32
pollinators. Today, many plants still00:03:34
do. As butterflies move from flower to00:03:38
flower, sipping nectar, they take pollen00:03:40
from one plant to another. The plants00:03:43
are fertilized. The insects are fed.00:03:46
This was the original arrangement.00:03:56
The plant and insect relationship has00:03:59
been a long and successful one. But at a00:04:02
certain point, some plants dropped their00:04:06
insect00:04:08
messengers. The reason can be found in00:04:11
the forested mountains of South00:04:14
America. Here the mornings are cold and00:04:18
damp.00:04:22
[Music]00:04:26
Butterflies can't fly in these00:04:30
conditions. Insects are coldblooded.00:04:33
Their bodies are the same temperature as00:04:35
their surroundings, so they are00:04:37
lethargic in the cool of the morning. In00:04:40
the mountains, insects are unreliable00:04:44
messengers.00:04:46
There was a need for a safer pair of00:04:57
wings. We may never know for certain00:05:00
where this change of messengers took00:05:02
place, but somewhere in South America,00:05:05
perhaps on the ancient plateaus of00:05:07
Brazil, plants acquired a new partner.00:05:20
It probably happened about 50 million00:05:23
years ago. In the cool climate, plants00:05:26
needed a reliable messenger. And there00:05:29
was a bird that could fill that00:05:35
[Music]00:05:39
requirement. A bird that possibly looked00:05:41
like this saw-built hermit found a new00:05:44
way of making a living. This ancestral00:05:48
hummingbird was most likely an insect00:05:51
and spider eater. Its heavy bill adapted00:05:54
for grasping its00:06:01
prey. At some point, the earliest00:06:04
hummingbirds started visiting flowers.00:06:08
Did they do it to extract insects from00:06:10
the blossoms? Perhaps. But as soon as00:06:14
the habit developed, then the birds00:06:16
could carry pollen from flower to00:06:18
flower. And the first hummers could not00:06:21
only catch insects, but also drink the00:06:23
nectar.00:06:30
[Music]00:06:36
The original hummingbirds with their00:06:38
heavy bills were relatively large and00:06:41
rather clumsy flyers. But this was the00:06:44
beginning of a long relationship with00:06:46
the plants and the birds evolved to00:06:49
better suit their new ways of00:06:51
[Music]00:06:55
life. Over millions of years, bills00:06:58
became lighter and thinner to better00:07:01
probe the flower for nectar.00:07:11
To reach the flowers demanded great00:07:14
flying prowess, and the early00:07:16
hummingbirds became smaller and more00:07:18
agile than their ancestors.00:07:22
[Music]00:07:39
As well as thin bills, the birds00:07:42
developed long tongues to probe the00:07:45
flowers and sip the00:07:47
[Music]00:07:51
nectar. Reaching the nectar demands a00:07:54
huge amount of energy, and so00:07:55
hummingbirds did everything to lower00:07:58
their weight. Their legs and feet became00:08:01
so small that they could no longer hop00:08:03
or walk. They could only perch. They00:08:06
were already leading an extreme way of00:08:08
life, living on an energy knife edge.00:08:14
[Music]00:08:28
The early hummingbirds offered a00:08:30
reliable service to their plant masters,00:08:32
able to fly in all weather conditions00:08:35
and get through with the pollen.00:09:10
[Music]00:09:17
[Laughter]00:09:34
For many millions of years, hummingbirds00:09:36
remained generalists, feeding from a00:09:40
wide variety of00:09:42
flowers, and many plants took up with00:09:46
the new pollinators. Today, there are00:09:48
over 8,000 different kinds that depend00:09:51
on the00:10:01
birds. But there was a penalty to the00:10:04
New Deal. The plants had to supply more00:10:07
food for their dependable warm-blooded00:10:09
messengers. Exactly for that reason.00:10:12
Warm-blooded birds use 10 times more00:10:14
energy than the cold-blooded insects00:10:16
they00:10:29
replaced. A hummingbird drinks more than00:10:31
its body weight in nectar each day. And00:10:34
hummingbird flowers produce a copious00:10:37
amount of liquid to suit their00:10:39
messengers.00:10:42
[Music]00:10:50
[Music]00:10:55
It was thought that hummingbird plants00:10:57
produced orange and red flowers to00:11:00
attract their messengers. But the story00:11:03
is more intriguing than that.00:11:09
Bees are red, green,00:11:12
colorblind. The plants were hiding their00:11:15
precious nectar from these insect00:11:16
robbers that can't see the difference00:11:18
between red and00:11:29
green whilst making it obvious for their00:11:32
feathered corers.00:11:34
[Music]00:11:38
The hummingbirds too paid a00:11:40
price. To further protect their nectar00:11:43
from insects, the plants made their00:11:45
flowers long and thin and placed them at00:11:48
the end of00:11:49
branches. Only an animal capable of00:11:52
precision flying could reach the00:11:54
flowers. Hummingbirds had to hover and00:11:57
that cost a great deal of energy.00:12:04
input high energy food, but to obtain it00:12:08
demands high energy output. Hummingbirds00:12:11
were forced into a precarious energy00:12:14
balancing00:12:15
act. Holding perfect position in space00:12:19
is a hummingbird trademark. No other00:12:22
birds can do it.00:12:24
[Music]00:12:26
Though the similar size banana quit does00:12:29
[Music]00:12:38
try, but in truth, compared to a00:12:41
hummingbird, other birds look clumsy.00:12:45
[Music]00:12:56
The reason is the way hummingbirds00:12:59
[Music]00:13:04
fly. All birds except hummingbirds and00:13:08
swifts, their distant relatives, gain00:13:11
power and lift on the downstroke, then00:13:14
fold the wings for the upstroke and00:13:17
repeat.00:13:18
[Music]00:13:21
Hummingbirds keep their wings stiff and00:13:24
do not fold them. Instead, they rotate00:13:27
at the shoulder so that the wing twists,00:13:30
giving lift and power on both strokes.00:13:45
The extra power gives the hummingbirds a00:13:47
great advantage and they can claim to be00:13:49
the most accomplished flyers that have00:13:52
ever taken to the00:14:02
air. Until recently, there was nothing00:14:06
that could compare with a hummingbird.00:14:12
That is until a high- techch company in00:14:15
California invented a robotic00:14:27
one. It flies just like a real00:14:30
hummingbird, gaining power on both wing00:14:35
strokes. It's a truly remarkable00:14:38
achievement. It's so realistic it even00:14:41
fools real flesh and blood00:14:47
hummingbirds. This Allen's hummingbird00:14:50
owns this suburban Los Angeles garden00:14:53
and it's not prepared to00:15:00
share. Things reach a crisis point when00:15:03
the robot Hummer approaches the real00:15:05
hummingbird's nectar feeder. Time to00:15:08
attack. The feathered hummingbird is00:15:10
only a quarter the size of the robot,00:15:13
but he still tries to drive off the00:15:14
interaloper by divebombing it.00:15:40
The robot depends on battery power and00:15:44
can fly for a few minutes, but real00:15:46
hummingbirds can stay in the air for00:15:55
hours. Their special mode of flying00:15:57
gives the hummingbirds the power to00:15:59
maneuver in all sorts of ways.00:16:03
Unique among birds, they can fly00:16:16
backwards. They can rotate on the00:16:22
spot, even fly backwards and upside00:16:25
down.00:16:30
The plants with their hardto-reach00:16:33
flowers had produced the ultimate aerial00:16:36
acrobats.00:16:47
[Music]00:17:06
All this virtuosity in the air costs00:17:10
[Music]00:17:12
energy. When flying, hummingbirds have00:17:15
the highest oxygen demand of all00:17:18
vertebrates. Wings beat as fast as 8000:17:21
times a second.00:17:25
The problem is getting oxygen to the00:17:27
flight00:17:33
muscles. When the bird is perched, the00:17:36
heart beats around 400 times a minute.00:17:44
In flight, it rises to an astonishing00:17:48
1,200 beats per minute as the heart00:17:50
pumps oxygenrich blood to the wing00:17:55
muscles. Even this is not enough when00:17:58
hovering, and so the heart expands in00:18:00
size so it can pump more blood with each00:18:03
beat. When this happens, the blood00:18:06
circulates around the whole body, heart00:18:08
to lungs to heart to muscles, and back00:18:10
to the heart in under 1 second.00:18:18
They're living at the edge of what is00:18:20
possible. Extreme aerial athletes with00:18:23
extreme needs. It's no surprise that00:18:26
when they're not flying and feeding,00:18:28
they rest and conserve energy.00:18:36
Hummingbirds spend 80% of the day00:18:39
perched and so they have time to stretch00:18:42
muscles and groom all important00:18:45
feathers.00:19:30
showers provide another opportunity to00:19:33
clean and brush up feathers.00:19:37
Unlike insects, hummingbirds seem to00:19:40
relish the rain. So when the skies open,00:19:44
the minute birds take to the leaves to00:19:49
bathe. Even a banana quit joins in.00:19:53
[Music]00:20:08
[Music]00:20:30
But bathing can only be a short00:20:33
interlude. For hummingbirds need to feed00:20:36
on average every 15 minutes. Starvation,00:20:39
death, is only ever a matter of hours00:20:44
away. It's essential for birds with such00:20:47
a precarious energy balance not to waste00:20:50
time visiting flowers that contain no00:20:55
nectar. But is it possible that00:20:57
hummingbirds can remember all the00:20:59
flowers they've just recently visited?00:21:03
This might appear straightforward when00:21:05
you have only a few flowers on a00:21:07
stem. But what about when you face the00:21:10
task in an ep00:21:12
tree? Even here, hummingbirds can and do00:21:16
remember the flowers they visited. A00:21:18
great feat for a bird00:21:22
brain. Plants have certainly shaped00:21:25
hummingbirds, their size, their powers00:21:27
of flight, and hyperactive metabolism.00:21:30
But the birds can't live by nectar00:21:36
alone. They need protein and this they00:21:39
catch on the wing with the most00:21:40
remarkable precision and arerobatic00:21:43
skill. Not all flights are successful,00:21:47
but most are.00:21:51
[Music]00:22:08
[Music]00:22:15
[Music]00:22:39
the Birds need the protein to build00:22:41
muscles and replace feathers. The only00:22:44
problem is avoiding choking on the00:22:46
tickly little flies.00:23:01
[Music]00:23:06
Hummingbirds are unique in many ways,00:23:08
but they share with all other birds the00:23:11
need to00:23:12
[Music]00:23:25
breed. Heat. Heat.00:23:34
[Music]00:24:08
The male wire crested thorn tail has a00:24:11
bizarre way of impressing a female. Its00:24:14
courtship lasts a matter of seconds and00:24:17
was unnoticed until the high-speed00:24:19
camera revealed its unusual nature.00:24:33
For a bird living on a knife edge, the00:24:36
display appears an extravagant flaunting00:24:38
of energy. And it may be designed to do00:24:42
just that, to show off the male's00:24:44
fitness.00:24:47
[Music]00:24:56
[Music]00:25:06
Despite all his energetic endeavors,00:25:09
this female remains unimpressed.00:25:20
It's the female alone that builds the00:25:23
nest and tends the eggs. But for00:25:26
hummingbirds, even this is not00:25:28
straightforward. To remain on the nest00:25:30
long enough to keep her eggs warm,00:25:33
counterintuitively, the female has to00:25:35
lower her body temperature. Only in this00:25:38
way can she reduce the time needed to00:25:41
spend away on feeding.00:26:01
The most dangerous time in a00:26:03
hummingbird's life is when it's a chick.00:26:06
They must stay00:26:11
inconspicuous. Only when the down00:26:13
feathers on their backs detect the00:26:15
downdraft of their mother's wings will00:26:18
they silently00:26:26
beg. The chicks are fed a rich mix of00:26:30
nectar, pollen, and00:26:35
insects. But despite all this attention,00:26:39
few nestlings reach adulthood.00:26:44
Even as adults, hummingbirds face severe00:26:46
problems. They have to refuel with00:26:49
nectar every 15 minutes. So, how do they00:26:52
survive the hours of00:26:56
darkness? Every night of their lives,00:26:58
hummingbirds face a challenge to stay00:27:01
alive until the morning.00:27:07
Their answer is as extraordinary as00:27:10
every other aspect of their lives. They00:27:13
go into torper, a kind of00:27:18
hibernation. Their body temperature00:27:20
plummets, heart rate drops from 400 to00:27:23
40, and they consume 100th of the energy00:27:27
they use when flying.00:27:32
This is a truly radical and dangerous00:27:35
solution for wildlen torper. They can't00:27:37
move. There's no possibility of escape00:27:40
from a nocturnal predator that might00:27:42
find00:27:48
them. As day approaches, they start to00:27:51
shiver and warm up. It may take half an00:27:54
hour before they return to normal.00:28:05
Only by these extreme measures can00:28:07
hummingbirds survive to greet another00:28:11
[Music]00:28:16
day. Living an extreme hyperenergetic00:28:19
life as they do, hummingbirds must00:28:21
ensure they have a supply of nectar.00:28:34
For most hummingbirds, this means00:28:37
guarding a patch of flowers large enough00:28:39
to support00:28:50
them. The flowers are a bird's00:28:53
lifeline. So even when it visits a plant00:28:56
to feed, a hummingbird keeps a weary eye00:28:58
out for possible nectar thieves like00:29:01
this female thorn00:29:09
tail. Most trespasses when confronted by00:29:12
the rightful owner back off and leave00:29:15
the00:29:19
territory. But in the main owners defend00:29:22
their patch of flowers by the most00:29:24
flamboyant display of00:29:26
[Music]00:29:38
color. Hummingbird feathers are00:29:41
extravagantly iridescent.00:29:44
[Music]00:30:00
The colors are not produced by pigments,00:30:03
but by layers of microscopic air bubbles00:30:06
in the feathers. The air bubbles00:30:08
refract, reflect, and recombine sunlight00:30:11
to produce dazzling colors.00:30:18
The colors depend on the angle of00:30:20
sunlight, so hummingbirds can switch on00:30:22
and off their brilliant signals.00:30:25
Flashing a warning to an intruder, but00:30:27
able to hide from an00:30:28
[Music]00:30:36
enemy. If the warning flash of color00:30:39
fails, then the hummingbird will fight.00:30:42
Although tiny, they're not delicate00:30:44
tropical gems, but aggressive00:30:46
combatants. It's a matter of life and00:30:48
death. An owner must defend its precious00:30:51
supply of nectar.00:30:54
[Music]00:31:00
[Music]00:31:09
[Music]00:31:16
As beffits the greatest flyers, much of00:31:19
the fighting is in the00:31:22
[Music]00:31:34
air. Heat. Heat.00:31:39
[Music]00:31:58
[Music]00:32:12
[Music]00:32:20
The aerial battles are really a fight00:32:22
for flowers. For without a territory,00:32:24
most hummingbirds are in deadly00:32:41
trouble. In northern Brazil, there are00:32:44
even temporary territories that last00:32:47
just a matter of hours.00:32:51
The cactuses that colonize the bare rock00:32:54
only reveal their flowers in the00:32:56
afternoon. In the morning, they're00:32:58
hidden inside these strange caps, and00:33:01
the rock garden is deserted.00:33:18
But when the flowers open, then00:33:21
hummingbirds appear as if by magic they00:33:25
remember when the nectar becomes00:33:27
available.00:33:28
[Music]00:33:49
The birds feast on the copious nectar00:33:52
and in return carry away the plant's00:33:55
sticky pollen on their bills and pass it00:33:57
on to other flowers.00:34:05
[Music]00:34:11
The Hummers carve up this miniature00:34:13
world, patrolling their airspace and00:34:16
chasing off00:34:25
interlopers. The temporary rulers of the00:34:28
cactus patch are fearless. They attack00:34:30
each other and ignore a lizard far00:34:32
bigger than00:34:34
themselves. But when it comes to bees00:34:36
and wasps, they retreat.00:34:39
Hummingbirds are too small to risk being00:34:42
stung. It would be00:34:44
[Music]00:34:54
[Music]00:34:59
fatal. The Hummers stay and feed and00:35:02
fight and guard their prickly patch00:35:04
until evening. Then, as the light fades,00:35:08
they gradually slip away to return next00:35:21
afternoon. Hummingbirds with their00:35:23
remarkable adaptations were an00:35:26
evolutionary success. They moved into a00:35:29
variety of habitats wherever there were00:35:31
flowers that needed reliable00:35:33
pollinators.00:35:36
[Music]00:35:38
And about 17 million years ago, another00:35:41
opportunity arose as the Andes pushed up00:35:45
by the drifting continents grew ever00:35:53
higher. The volcanic Sierra reached up00:35:57
to over 5,000 m higher than the00:36:00
ancestral Brazilian plateau, creating00:36:03
new habitats.00:36:08
The mountains also brought new00:36:10
challenges. There was less oxygen at00:36:12
these dizzy heights and the air is00:36:15
thinner, less00:36:16
[Music]00:36:23
dense. Some plants offered their00:36:26
feathered messengers support. The00:36:28
shining sunbeam clings to the future00:36:31
while it feeds and so saves the high00:36:34
cost of hovering.00:36:54
Other birds found a different way to00:36:56
cope with life in the high00:36:59
mountains. The giant hummingbird has00:37:02
huge wings. The extra wing area makes up00:37:05
for the thin00:37:08
air. And the giant sweeps its wings in a00:37:12
vast arc to create more lift. The wing00:37:15
tips nearly meeting at the end of each00:37:19
stroke. The giant is the biggest of all00:37:22
hummingbirds. It's the same weight as a00:37:24
great tit. And perhaps this is the upper00:37:26
limit for00:37:30
[Music]00:37:39
hummingbirds. The Andes with their wide00:37:42
range of habitats produced an explosion00:37:44
of hummingbird species. Half of all the00:37:47
kinds of hummingbirds live in these00:37:49
mountains along with their plant00:37:51
partners.00:37:54
and a few plants formed a closer00:37:57
relationship with their sexual00:38:00
messengers. This is Angel's trumpet and00:38:04
its flowers are enormous, 20 cm00:38:13
long. The nectar is produced at the far00:38:16
end of the tube, out of reach of most00:38:19
hummingbirds.00:38:27
This coronet simply doesn't have the00:38:30
means of reaching the nectar.00:38:51
Only one bird can sip from the angel's00:38:55
trumpet. This one, the sword00:39:00
bill. Its bill is actually longer than00:39:03
its body. It has the longest bill00:39:06
relative to body of any bird in the00:39:09
world. And that remarkable beak and00:39:12
equally long tongue allows the sword00:39:15
bill to feed where no other bird00:39:34
can. And a big bill can have other uses.00:39:45
The angel's trumpet is not the only00:39:47
plant to form an intimate bond with the00:39:49
sword bill. This is a kind of passion00:39:52
flower, and it too has a long tubular00:39:56
flower. The orange on the sword bill's00:39:59
chin is00:40:06
pollen. Each time it drinks from the00:40:08
passion flower, pollen is transferred00:40:11
back and forth between plant and bird.00:40:27
By forming this close liaison, the00:40:29
passion flower and the angel's trumpet00:40:32
increase the chances of their pollen00:40:34
being successfully transferred to a00:40:36
plant of the same00:40:43
kind. And the hummingbird has the nectar00:40:46
of the plants all to itself. So both00:40:49
plant and bird00:41:07
benefit. There's another hummingbird00:41:10
that has formed an even closer00:41:12
relationship. It has an exclusive deal00:41:15
with this heliconia.00:41:22
The heliconia protects its yellow00:41:24
flowers inside robust red00:41:39
bracks. The flowers are deeply curved.00:41:50
Only this bird can reach the00:42:04
nectar. Its bill perfectly matches the00:42:07
curve of the flower like a key in a00:42:10
lock.00:42:17
As it feeds at its private flower00:42:19
garden, pollen is dabbed onto its head.00:42:23
The bird transfers the pollen from one00:42:25
plant to another, ensuring successful00:42:32
pollination. Because the sickle bill has00:42:35
the heliconia nectar all to itself, it00:42:38
has no need to defend the territory.00:42:41
Instead, it spends its day flying from00:42:43
one clump of flowers to00:42:49
another. And not needing to display its00:42:53
ownership of flowers, the sickle bill is00:42:56
not iridescent. Rather, it's quite dull,00:42:59
camouflaged against its exclusive00:43:01
flowers.00:43:11
[Music]00:43:17
[Music]00:43:20
The next chapter in hummingbird00:43:22
evolution was written about 6 million00:43:25
years00:43:26
[Music]00:43:28
ago. Some hummingbirds became even00:43:31
smaller.00:43:45
These micro hummingbirds are amongst the00:43:49
smallest warm-blooded creatures on00:43:56
Earth. They weigh as little as 2 g, the00:44:00
same as a single penny.00:44:03
And they compete directly with the00:44:06
[Music]00:44:17
insects. They're not only smaller than00:44:20
other hummingbirds, they look dissimilar00:44:22
and they behave00:44:26
differently.00:44:29
Their flight is more like an insects as00:44:32
they roam freely through the forests00:44:35
feeding on a variety of flowers.00:44:42
[Music]00:44:57
The mystery is why the tiny hummers like00:45:00
this woodstar are not attacked by the00:45:03
bigger territory owners.00:45:07
[Music]00:45:19
The aggressive emerald ignores this00:45:22
little00:45:23
thief. Why?00:45:28
[Music]00:45:40
More mysterious still, the miniature00:45:42
wood star shows no fear at all as it00:45:45
plunders the emerald's nectar store.00:45:51
[Music]00:46:01
[Music]00:46:16
It might be that the emerald doesn't00:46:18
recognize the tiny wood star as a00:46:27
hummingbird. Rather, its small size and00:46:31
insect-like flight fools the bigger00:46:33
bird.00:46:37
[Music]00:46:44
[Music]00:46:52
The emerald even shares a flower with a00:46:55
little00:46:58
[Music]00:46:59
snake.00:47:03
Could it be that the woodsar is trading00:47:06
on the hummingbird's inbuilt fear of00:47:09
wasps and00:47:12
bees? This new group of micro00:47:15
hummingbirds may have originated in00:47:18
Central America. From there, they've00:47:21
spread far to the00:47:25
north. The draw was flowers.00:47:38
But there is one major drawback to00:47:40
living so far00:47:42
north.00:47:44
Winter. So each autumn, ruby throatated00:47:47
hummingbirds must head south before the00:47:50
flowers die and leave them without food.00:47:58
By September, they arrived in places00:48:01
like Rockport, Texas. Some may have00:48:04
already flown over 3,000 km from Canada,00:48:07
but many still face their greatest00:48:14
challenge. They must continue south, and00:48:18
for some, that means crossing the00:48:20
vastness of the sea.00:48:27
The local people put out feeders to help00:48:29
the migrating00:48:36
hummingbirds. Each arriving hummingbird00:48:39
feeds furiously. They must gain weight,00:48:42
converting sugarrich nectar into fat. In00:48:46
just 3 days, a bird will almost double00:48:49
its weight.00:48:52
This is the equivalent of a human of00:48:54
average weight putting on over 50 kilos00:48:57
of00:49:08
fat. The arrival of the hummingbirds is00:49:11
a cause for a party and Rockport hosts00:49:15
the Hummer celebration. People come from00:49:18
all over North America to see these tiny00:49:21
travelers. Most unusual pictures ever.00:49:24
You're going to have to show it to your00:49:25
friends. Oh, yes. Absolutely.00:49:38
Absolutely. At the peak of the00:49:40
migration, Rockport is temporary home to00:49:44
tens of thousands of hummers.00:49:47
This spectacle of so many hummingbirds00:49:49
can be found nowhere else on Earth, but00:49:52
it can lead to some people making a00:49:54
spectacle of00:49:58
themselves. The Hummer helmet is all you00:50:01
need.00:50:29
Once the birds have put on enough fat,00:50:31
they move the short distance to the00:50:33
coast. The time has arrived for the00:50:36
greatest test of their powers of00:50:40
flight. The nighttime journey, at least00:50:43
800 kilometers non-stop, is an enormous00:50:46
undertaking for such tiny birds. A last00:50:50
sip and the birds set off across the00:50:54
Gulf of Mexico.00:51:00
Much about the journey remains unknown,00:51:02
but recently scientists have tracked the00:51:05
birds using the Doppler radar of the00:51:08
United States National Weather00:51:12
Service. Designed to discover water00:51:15
droplets inside clouds, this00:51:17
sophisticated radar can also reveal the00:51:20
path of flocks of small birds, including00:51:23
Hummers.00:51:32
Once they're beyond the range of the00:51:33
radar, their journey is shrouded in00:51:41
mystery. There is much we still do not00:51:43
know about hummingbirds, about their00:51:46
secret high-speed lives.00:51:48
[Music]00:51:52
But what we do know is that they are the00:51:54
most remarkable, colorful, energetic,00:51:58
and acrobatic of all00:52:00
creatures. They live at the limits of00:52:02
what is possible. Nature's miniature00:52:06
masterpieces, and all because they are00:52:08
the messengers of00:52:14
plants. Heat. Heat.00:52:19
[Music]Description:
Watch more bird videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRDbZ1OP1Tk David Attenborough talks us through the remarkable world of hummingbirds. Journey through the forests and mountains of South America to explore how these tiny birds evolved into some of the most specialized and agile flyers in the animal kingdom. From their unique relationship with flowers to their migration feats, this documentary unveils the secrets behind their glittering feathers, hovering abilities, and high-speed lives. Learn how hummingbirds were shaped by the plants they pollinate, and witness stunning slow-motion footage that reveals behaviors invisible to the naked eye. Click here for more documentaries: https://www.youtube.com/user/animalmadhouse Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/realwildschannel Follow us on Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/unsupportedbrowser From: Hummingbirds: Jewelled Messengers Content licensed by Autentic GmBH to Little Dot Studios Any queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
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