Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: What is the smallest species of bird?
The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is a species of hummingbird which is the world's smallest bird.[2][3] It is endemic to Cuba and the Isle of Pines.
The grouping of species gave Bewick difficulty, as the scientific sources of the time did not agree on how to arrange the species in families, or on a sequence or grouping of those families. Bewick for example uses family groups like "Of the Falcon", in which he includes buzzards and sparrowhawks as well as what are now called falcons. The families of land birds are further grouped into birds of prey, omnivorous birds, insectivorous birds, and granivorous birds, while the families of water birds are simply listed, with what seemed to be related families, such as "Of the Anas" (ducks) and "Of the Mergus" (sawbill ducks), side by side.
Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly.[1] There are over 60 extant species[2] including the well known ratites (ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail (length 12.5cm, weight 34.7 g). The largest (both heaviest and tallest) flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich (2.7 m, 156kg). Ostriches are farmed for their decorative feathers, meat and their skins, which are used to make leather.
The Cuban gnatcatcher ("Polioptila lembeyei") is a species of bird in the family Polioptilidae, the gnatcatchers.
It is endemic to Cuba.
Its natural habitat is xeric scrubland. It is the smallest species in the Polioptilidae family at 10 cm (4 in).
The blue-masked leafbird ("Chloropsis venusta") is a species of bird in the Chloropseidae family. It is endemic to humid montane forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the smallest species of leafbird.
Victoria is Australia's second-smallest state but has high biodiversity, with 516 bird species recorded — around 54% of Australia's total of 959 bird species in just 3% of Australia's land area.
The rufous piculet ("Sasia abnormis") is a species of bird in the family Picidae.
It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. This species is one of the world's smallest woodpeckers and is the smallest woodpecker found outside the Americas. In this species the length can range from and the average body mass is around .
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and constitute the biological family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in length. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the bee hummingbird weighing less than .
The lake is home to over 230 species of vascular plants, of which 7 endangered in Bulgaria. It is also inhabited by the Etruscan pygmy shrew, the smallest mammal by mass. Lake Atanasovsko is also one of the key ornithological locations in the country, with 314 species of birds being present, 70% of all in Bulgaria. 12 of them are globally endangered, including the pygmy cormorant, the red-breasted goose, the ferruginous duck, the Dalmatian pelican and the corn crake. In addition, 17 local species of birds in danger of extinction in Bulgaria also live in the lake, such as the common tern and the Audouin's gull. The high number of birds is due to the lake's location on the important Via Pontica bird migration route, the lake being most populated by birds during the autumn migration.
It is the only sanctuary in India, which lies in the heart of city of Porbandar and is a unique example of co-existence of man and nature.
It is the only bird sanctuary of the Gujarat that provides legal protection to varied species of birds which nest here. Porbandar Bird Sanctuary is the smallest bird sanctuary spread over in an area of 1 square km. The sanctuary has a lake attracting migratory birds and other birds such as teals, fowls, flamingos, ibis and curlews
The flamecrest is a small perching bird, resembling a warbler. Its length is only and weight about 7 g, making it is the smallest of all Taiwan's endemic bird species, and the smallest and most colourful member of its family in the world.
More than half of the bird and mammal species found in the Kimberley region are found within the national park. It is home to the monjon, the smallest of the rock-wallabies, and the golden bandicoot - listed as a vulnerable species. The Prince Regent and Mitchell River Important Bird Area which overlaps part of the national park, is an area identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, an international non-government organization, because of its importance for a range of bird species, especially those retricted to tropical savanna habitats.
African rainforests also hold mixed-species flocks, the core species including bulbuls and sunbirds, and attendants being as diverse as the red-billed dwarf hornbill and the tit-hylia, the smallest bird of Africa. Drongos and paradise-flycatchers are sometimes described as the sentinels of the flock, but they are also known to steal prey from other flock members. Acanthizidae are typical core members in New Guinea and Australia; in Australia, fairy-wrens are also significant. The core species are joined by birds of other families such as minivets.
The documentary explores the history of the elephant bird, what led to its extinction, and the role of conservation in preventing the extinction of critically endangered species. The extinction of the elephant bird is attributed to human activity. The birds were once widespread, but deforestation and the hunting of the bird's eggs led to the species' decline. Attenborough compares the factors that led to the extinction of the elephant bird with the threats facing critically endangered species in the present.
The short-tailed pygmy tyrant ("Myiornis ecaudatus") is a small species of tyrant-flycatcher. The species is one of the smallest birds on Earth and the smallest passerine. Among both the family and the order, only the closely related black-capped pygmy tyrant approaches similarly diminutive sizes. The pygmy tyrant is widespread throughout most of the Amazon in northern and central South America.
With a mass of approximately and a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in), the bee hummingbird ("Mellisuga helenae") is the world's smallest bird species and the smallest warm-blooded vertebrate. Called the "zunzún" in its native habitat on Cuba, it is lighter than a Canadian or U.S. penny. It is said that it is "more apt to be mistaken for a bee than a bird". The bee hummingbird eats half its total body mass and drinks eight times its total body mass each day. Its nest is 3 cm across.
The Cape penduline tit or southern penduline tit ("Anthoscopus minutus") is a species of bird in the family Remizidae.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Its natural habitats are dry savannah, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. At in length, it is one of the smallest species of bird found in Africa, along with its cousins the grey penduline tit and the mouse-coloured penduline tit.
In 2009, in association with Allen & Unwin, BA-VIC published a new bird book, "Where to See Birds in Victoria", edited by Tim Dolby, featuring the best places in Victoria for seeing birds. Despite being Australia's smallest mainland state, its varied landscapes provide habitat for more than 500 bird species. The book also provides a comprehensive and up-to-date list of birds, with the degree of rarity and where to see it noted for each species.
The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens. The Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between . They have short rounded wings, slender bills, long legs, and a short tail. Most species have olive, grey, or brown plumage, although some have patches of a brighter yellow. The weebill is the smallest species of acanthizid, and the smallest Australian passerine; the largest is the pilotbird.
The Stits DS-1 Baby Bird is a homebuilt aircraft built to achieve a "world's smallest" status. The Baby Bird is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Smallest Airplane in the World.” as of 1984. The title was later defined as "world's smallest monoplane" to acknowledge The Robert Star Bumble Bee as the world's smallest biplane.
Among coastal and some wetland areas, various water birds can come to contribute a large portion of both prey numbers and prey biomass. This may include more than 50 species of shorebird (from the one of the smallest sandpipers to the largest species of gull), more than 30 species of waterfowl, more than 10 species of herons, more than 8 species of rails and any grebes, cormorants or other water birds that are available.[2] The most regularly reported water bird prey in Europe were, roughly in this order, the 343g (12.1oz) common moorhens (Gallinula chloropus), the 836g (1.843lb) Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), 1,140g (2.51lb) mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), 284g (10.0oz) black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), and the 340g (12oz) Eurasian teal (Anas crecca).[2][95] The diet of a handful of eagle-owl pairs in the Riau Islands Province of France were found to be dominated by water birds, especially the 1,154g (2.544lb) yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), the colonial abundance of which allowed the eagle-owls to atypically occupy these small islands.[95][102] The diet of eagle-owls in Norway was dominated in coastal areas by water birds, overall for the nation 53% of the food was made of birds, the species most commonly identified as caught being the 388g (13.7oz) mew gull (Larus canus), 430g (15oz) common puffin (Fratercula arctica) and 2,070g (4.56lb) common eider (Somateria mollissima). Despite access to large seabird breeding colonies, almost all large bird species hunted in Norway, including large forest grouse in more inland areas, were apparently fully-grown adults and most water birds were caught while resting on open coastal waters.[14][95] Eagle-owls in northwestern Poland, an area heavily dotted with lakes, relied on birds for about 64% of the diet, more than half of which were water birds. The main prey species there was the Eurasian coot, at nearly 15% of the prey numbers.[18] In Primorsky Krai in Russia, 53.2% of the food for the eagle-owls were made up of birds, predominantly water birds with the primary prey species being the 260g (9.2oz) crested auklet (Aethia cristatella ) (26.9%).[95][103] In the Russian Far East, similarly, birds occupy up to 57.6% of the diet, a lion's share of which are water birds. In this study, the grey red-backed vole and reed vole (Microtus fortis) were the most numerous identified individual species but in some years the extremely large Japanese cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), at 2,820g (6.22lb), were more numerous as prey than either vole.[83][95] Water birds were found to be even more important in the diet in Korea, as in wetland habitat, with birds in general comprising 68.9% by number and 85.3% by biomass there, but in adjacent upland areas birds were slightly secondary to mammals, which made up 38.7% by number and 64.7% by biomass, led by the brown rat.[69] In Korea, the mallard and the similar spot-billed duck (Anas poecilorhyncha) made up 38.1% of the biomass.[69] Other recorded bird species in the Eurasian eagle-owl's diet includes all type of birds found in their range, including bustards, sandgrouse, parrots, cuckoos, swifts, the 67g (2.4oz) hoopoe (Upupa epops), the 56.5g (1.99oz) European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), the 31g (1.1oz) common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), the 146g (5.1oz) European roller (Coracias garrulus), at least seven species of woodpecker (from the smallest to the largest European species) and more than 80 species of passerine.[2][95] Among passerines, the only family reported widely as prey besides corvids are thrushes. In the Italian Alps, Turdus species were the fourth most frequently recorded type of prey.[30] In particular, the abundant 103g (3.6oz) Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is widely reported to be taken by eagle-owls.[12][23][95] As thrushes are relatively small, at 55 to 130g (1.9 to 4.6oz) among the species known to be predated, pairs in the Italian Alps who depended more so on thrushes usually showed lower productivity during nesting attempts.[30]
This petite species is not only the smallest North American "Spinus" finch, it may be the smallest true finch in the world. Some sources list more subtropical "Spinus" species as slightly smaller on average, including the Andean siskin. This species ranges from in length and can weigh from . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the tail is , the bill is and the tarsus is . There is a slight NW-SE cline in size, with the largest birds from Mexico and south being up to one-fifth larger than the smallest from the extreme NW of its range; this effect is more pronounced in females. There is also considerable variation in the amount of black on head and back in males, and thus three subspecies have been proposed. But this variation too seem to be simple and clinal changes in allele frequency, and thus the "subspecies" might be better considered morphs or geographical forms.
Males are easily recognized by their bright yellow underparts and big white patches in the tail (outer rectrices) and on the wings (the base of the primaries). They range from having solid black from the back to the upper head including the ear-coverts to having these regions medium green; each of the back, crown and ear regions varies in darkness rather independently though as a rule the ears are not darker than the rest. In most of the range dark psaltria birds (Arkansas goldfinch) predominate. The light birds are termed hesperophilus and are most common in the far western U.S. and northwestern Mexico.
Despite its preference for ground-dwelling avian prey, a surprisingly considerable number of water birds may also be attacked. Waterfowl known to be attacked include the South African shelduck ("Tadorna cana"), yellow-billed duck ("Anas undulata"), the spur-winged goose ("Plectropterus gambensis") (Africa's largest waterfowl species) and especially the peculiar, overly bold and aggressive Egyptian goose ("Alopochen aegyptiaca"), which is one of the main prey species for martial eagles in Kruger National Park. Larger wading birds are also fairly frequently attacked including herons and egrets, flamingoes storks, ibises, spoonbills and cranes. The diversity and number of storks taken is particularly impressive. They are known to take 8 species of stork, ranging from the smallest known species, the African openbill ("Anastomus lamelligerus"), to the tallest species in the world, the , -tall saddle-billed stork ("Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis"). One naturalists observed up to a half dozen attacks in different parts of Africa on white storks ("Ciconia ciconia"). Short of three attacks on spotted thick-knees ("Burhinus capensis"), which weigh about , so far as is known small waders or shorebirds are ignored as prey. Other assorted avian prey may consists of ostrich ("Struthio camelus") chicks (frequently resulting in the immediate ire of protective ostrich parents), sandgrouse, pigeons and doves, hornbills and crows. Beyond occasional captures of other birds of prey (covered later), one other impressive avian prey species is the southern ground hornbill ("Bucorvus leadbeateri"), which at is probably the world's largest hornbill. At the other end of the scale, some martial eagles may capture a few small social species of passerine, which are exceptionally small prey (the smallest recorded prey species for the eagle overall), potentially consisting of the red-billed queleas ("Quelea quelea") and the sociable weavers ("Philetairus socius"), as practically every meat-eating bird in Africa may be attracted to these species’ colonial abundance.
Between 60 and 90 bird species and eight lemur species are found in the ecoregion and a number of mammals, frogs, and reptiles are endemic to the area. A notable lemur species is the endangered Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, the world's smallest primate.
Bird sampling at Bushy Lake is done using a point bird count method, consisting of being in designated areas for 15 minutes and recording and identifying what birds are seen or heard. Counts have been used to compile lists of avian species using the site for breeding purposes, foraging, or just passing by. The counts are on-going, in an effort to determine what species use the site year-round.