Emerald Hummingbirds in Cuba

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This article is the last of a series based on my trip to Cuba. I traveled on a People to People tour to Cuba called: Cuba Today, People and Society with Road Scholar.  www.roadscholar.org

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Hotel Jugau Cuba

The Emerald Hummingbird mother (photo by Alexa Halpern)

The Emerald Hummingbird mother (photo by
Alexa Halpern)

Mother feeding her young. (photo by Alexa Halpern)
We also saw an Emerald hummingbird at the Bay of Pigs.  His green iridescent feathers were a sight to behold!  Like other species of birds, the male Cuban emeralds are more colorful than the female and smaller.  Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards and their wings flap about 15 to 80 times per second.
Hummingbirds are an integral part of pollination because they sip nectar from many different flowers in one day.  They bring pollen from flower to flower while getting the nectar.

I was looking to see the Emerald Humming Bird’s smaller cousin, the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world, but we did not see one.

Male Emerald Hummingbird ( photo by Lyn Roger)

Male Emerald Hummingbird
Behind the leaf, you will see the thin pointed beak used for gathering nectar.
( photo by Lyn Roger)

Humming bird at the Bay of Pigs (photo by Lynn Roger)

Hummingbird at the Bay of Pigs (photo by Lyn Roger)