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:
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Porto Cathedral, Portugal
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Why does this panda cub look so happy?
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Sequential images of a total solar eclipse
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World Photography Day
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Hello, harbinger of spring
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Hey neighbor, it s World Space Week!
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Blue-footed booby, Galápagos Islands
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It’s Draw a Bird Day
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Desert rose of Qatar
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International Day for Biodiversity
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Where is this gorgeous peak?
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Life carries on, rising from a ship s skeleton
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Are you older than this lake?
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International Kissing Day
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Where do those colors come from?
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Does this shark have an Irish accent?
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Corfe gets creepy
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Bavljenac Island
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American Wetlands Month
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The story of a rediscovered redwood
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The Zugspitze: Germany s highest point
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Indian Independence Day
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National Roller Coaster Day
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Giants of the avian world
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Bryce Canyon National Park turns 100
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World Childrens Day
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Baddest of the badlands
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Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
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The wild heart of Tasmania
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A bridge that rocks