Bird Watching Info

Whereas The smallest bird in the world is generally agreed to be the Bee Hummingbird from Cuba, which weighs a mere 1.6g, or 0.056oz. Shortest wings and body length are not really appropriate measurements because they are disproportionately affected by whether or not the bird is flightless or not and its beak length respectively. Another major contender for smallest bird is the Little Woodstar from S. America. Both these tiny miracles of life fly very competently. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island Rail. Reaching a mere 12.5cm/5inches in length and weighing 35g/1.45oz this little beauty can only be found in the southern Atlantic Tristan da Cunha Islands.

One of the most notable things about just about any bird population is that some of the birds are only present for some of the time. Between 1500 and 4000 species of birds migrate. Some birds travel south in some winters but not others. This is not migration, but dispersal resulting from a population boom. These population booms can occur regularly, i.e. every 4 or 10 years perhaps, but there is no return in the spring. Destruction or loss of food resources can also cause the irregular eruptions of birds to new habitats.