The ruby-throated hummingbird in today"s homepage image is snacking on some yellow bells in the Texas Hill Country, preparing for its long journey south for the winter. This time of year, the hummingbirds leave the northern latitudes of the eastern US and Canada, migrating to the warmer climes of Mexico and Central America. Along their route, many will cross the Gulf of Mexico in a single 500-mile flight, which can take 18-22 hours of nonstop flying at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Tiny but fierce, the ruby-throated hummingbird weighs less than a nickel. It beats its wings about 53 times a second on average, but during courtship the wingbeat rate increases to 200 times per second, the fastest of any bird.
Tiny fliers head south
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
- 
					White dunes, blue lagoons
- 
					Freshwater plants in Aquário Natural, Brazil
- 
					Sailing on thick ice
- 
					Does this shark have an Irish accent?
- 
					Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
- 
					Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
- 
					Art in the high desert
- 
					Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, Bavaria, Germany
- 
					It s time to fall back
- 
					Fiesta at Siesta
- 
					National Public Lands Day
- 
					Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
- 
					Sleep tight, little hedgehog
- 
					Take a break! It s Labor Day!
- 
					The moon rises for Mid-Autumn Festival
- 
					You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
- 
					Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast
- 
					Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 
					Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
- 
					Abraham Lake, Alberta, Canada
- 
					Sibiu Christmas market, Romania
- 
					Wildebeests in Maasai Mara, Kenya
- 
					Morocco in bloom
- 
					Chicagohenge
- 
					Great horned owl
- 
					In the Garden of Europe
- 
					Let us introduce you…
- 
					Celebrating World Wildlife Day
- 
					Antarctica Day
- 
					Guilin and Lijiang River National Park, China
 Bing Wallpaper Gallery
Bing Wallpaper Gallery 
	
