Bird is a warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate animal distinguished by the possession of feathers, wings, a beak, and typically by being able to fly. Most Birds can fly, using powerful muscles to flap their wings. But few bird species do not have strong enough wings to fly , so these birds are flightless. Birds are a group of feathered theropod dinosaurs and constitute the only living dinosaurs. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or “perching” birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species. Many social species pass on knowledge across generations, which is considered a form of culture. Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and songs, and participating in such behaviours as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. Songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Recreational bird watching is an important part of the ecotourism industry. Many species of birds are economically important as food for human consumption and raw material in manufacturing, with domesticated and undomesticated birds being important sources of eggs, meat, and feathers. Here are the 10 Smallest Bird Species the world ranked by Height of the Bird.
1.Bee Humming Bird(Mellisuga helenae)
The Bee Humming Bird is the smallest living bird and also the world’s lightest bird at under 2 grams. It has the smallest nest in the world. The Bee Humming Bird, zunzuncito or Helena Humming Bird is a species of Humming Bird. They are also known as “the flying jewels” because they are able to change the color of their feathers when they fly, this is the unique character. It is native to Cuba. The Average length of Bee Hummingbird is 5 – 6 centimeters and weight is 1.7 grams. The male has a green pileum and bright red throat, iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper parts, and the rest of the under parts mostly grayish white. Female bee hummingbirds are bluish green with a pale gray underside. The tips of their tail feathers have white spots. Hummingbirds are named after the humming sound which is produced by their wings during flight. Hummingbirds are very intelligent animals. They have larger brain size than other birds. Their brain weights 4.2% of the hummingbird total body weight. They do not have the sense of smell.
Hummingbirds can see and hear better than humans. They can even detect ultraviolet light. They can move their wings 70 times in a single second, so it requires a lot of energy. Hummingbirds use carbohydrates (sugars) as the main source of energy for flight. Nectar from flowers is the best source of sugar. It also eats insects, which provide them with enough proteins. Female usually lays 2 eggs, which are very small about just ½ inches long. Eggs represent 10 percent of the mother’s weight. Baby cannot fly and it spends first three weeks of life in the nest. Most hummingbirds die in the first year of their life. Those that survive, have an average lifespan of 5 years in the wild and more than 10 years in captivity.
2.Costa’s Humming Bird(Calypte Costae)
The Costa’s Hummingbirds (Calypte costae) are small North American desert birds that occur in the western United States and Mexico, but are known to wander eastward and as far north as Alaska and Canada. Average length of Costa’s Humming Bird is only 8 centimeters long and average weight is 3 grams. It’s native to the southwestern USA. The desert might seem like a bad place for a creature that feeds at flowers, but it is the favored habitat for Costa’s Hummingbird. The Costa’s hummingbird can usually be found in the arid deserts and gardens of its range. The male Costa’s hummingbird has a green and black back and flanks and a small black tail with patches of white below its tail. The male Costa’s hummingbird sports a vibrant purple cap and has throat feathers that flare out behind its head. The female Costa’s hummingbird, not as distinct as the male, is gray-green above and white on its underparts.
Jules Bourcier, a French naturalist and hummingbird expert named the Costa’s Hummingbird after his friend Louis Marie Pantaleon Costa de Beauregar. Costa was a Sardinian patriot, statesman, military commander, historian, and amateur archaeologist who was also fond of collecting hummingbirds. Compact and short-tailed with a slightly drooping bill. Researchers calculated that a Costa’s Hummingbird needs to visit 1,840 flowers to meet its energy requirements for one day. Even though they are traditionally migratory birds, an increasing number of them choose to remain throughout the year in areas with temperate climates, where food supplies are ample. It feeds on nectar and insects. They are typically found near plants such as the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) and cholla cactus (Opuntia acanthocarpa). They use their long, extendible, straw-like tongues to retrieve the nectar while hovering with their tails cocked upward as they are licking at the nectar up to 13 times per second. Sometimes they may be seen hanging on the flower while feeding.
3.WeeBill(Smicrornis Brevirostris)
Average length of WeeBill is just 8 centimeters and weight is 6 grams. Wingspan is approximately 15 cm (5.9 in). The Weebill was described by John Gould in 1838 as Psilopus brevirostris. The Weebill’s common name comes from the short, stubby, pale beak. The eye is pale cream, and there is a pale line above the eye. The Weebill is native to Australia’s jungles, forests and it is Australia’s smallest bird. Inhabits dry, open woodlands, especially Eucalypt forests. Eucalyptus-rich areas, they have a diet that’s based on larvae and small insects. It is very vocal as it forages in trees, where it feeds primarily on insects, sometimes in mixed flocks with thorn bills and pardalotes.
The Weebill (Smicrornis brevirostris) is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae, it is an insectivorous passerine. The Weebill’s plumage is nondescript, with olive-grey upperparts and paler, more yellowish under parts. It grades from more brownish plumage in the Southern regions of Australia to more yellow in tropical areas. Other names of it include tree-tit, short billed tree-tit, scrub-tit, or short-billed scrub-tit. The voice of the Weebill is a loud, clear, musical “pee-pee p’wee”, “wee bit” or “wee willy weetee”, often heard from a considerable distance. They display a preference for foraging in the canopy foliage of healthy Eucalyptus trees, where they are more likely to retrieve insects. The Weebill is widespread in all climates.
4.Goldcrest(Regulus Regulus)
Goldcrest is the smallest bird in Europe. Average length of Goldcrest(Regulus Regulus) is 9 centimeters, weight is 5.7 grams and wingspan is 14 cm. Goldcrest includes many countries in the Middle East, East and Central Asia, India and many parts of Europe. It is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Birds on the Canary Islands are now separated into two subspecies of the goldcrest, but were formerly considered to be a subspecies of the firecrest or a separate species, Regulus teneriffae. It is small bird with finely shaped bill and a short tail. Crown stripe yellow in female, orange in male. Since bird is often viewed from below, the crown stripe is often not visible. The dark eye with the large, pale grey eye-ring is a better character. Their thin beak is ideally suited for picking insects out from between pine needles.
It’s colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the “king of the birds” in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, R. regulus, means king or knight. The Goldcrest breeds in coniferous woodland and gardens. It builds three-layered nest on a tree branch. It is the fact that Goldcrests can incubate as many as 12 eggs at one time in their nest. Eggs are incubated by the female alone, and the chicks are fed by both parents. Contact call a very high pitched “zit zit zit”, only similar to Firecrest and treecreepers. Goldcrests eat tiny morsels like spiders, moth eggs and other small insect food. Birds from the North and East of its breeding range migrate to winter further South.
5.Simple FireCrest(Regulus Ignicapilla)
Averagelength of Simple FireCrest(Regulus Ignicapilla) is 9.3 centimeters and weight is 5.5 grams. FireCrest is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. The Firecrest is as small as the Goldcrest and is clearly very closely related to it, but the two species can coexist because of their subtly different ecological requirements. It is possible that this species was the original “king of the birds” in European folklore. It breeds in most of temperate Europe and northwestern Africa, and is partially migratory, with birds from central Europe wintering to the south and west of their breeding range. This kinglet is constantly on the move and frequently hovers as it searches for insects to eat, and in winter it is often found with flocks of tits.
Firecrests in the Balearic Islands and north Africa are widely recognized as a separate subspecies, but the population on Madeira, previously also treated as a subspecies, is now treated as a distinct species, the Madeira firecrest, Regulus madeirensis. The common Firecrest breeds in broadleaved or coniferous woodland and gardens. Seven to twelve eggs are incubated by the female alone. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge 22–24 days after hatching. It may be hunted and killed by birds of prey, and can carry parasites. Simple firecrests tend to be seen more frequently during autumn and winter.
6.Pardalote(Pardalotidae)
Average length of Pardalote(Pardalotidae) is 9.5 centimeters and weight is 6 grams. The Pardalote is a particularly attractive Australian bird and native to Australia. Pardalotes are a family, Pardalotidae, of very small and brightly coloured birds. This family is composed of four species in one genus, Pardalotus, and several subspecies. Within the family two species, the forty-spotted pardalote and the red-browed pardalote, are fairly invariant species, but the remaining two species are highly variable. Spotted Pardalote also called as HeadacheBird. All four species nest in deep horizontal tunnels drilled into banks of earth. Externally about the size of a mouse-hole, they can be very deep, at a metre or more.
Some species also nest in tree hollows. Eventhough they weigh just 6 g. Their small size lets them get into small holes of eucalyptus trees to hunt for lerps and other native larvae. The name derives from a Greek word meaning “spotted”. They are seasonal breeders in temperate areas of Australia, but may breed year round in warmer areas. Pardalotes spend most of their time high in the outer foliage of trees, feeding on insects, spiders, and above all lerps. Their role in controlling lerp infestations in the Eucalyptus forests of Australia may be significant. Pardalote has short tail, strong legs, and stubby blunt beak. They are monogamous breeders, and both partners share nest construction, incubation and chick-rearing duties. Voice is a very clear and repetitive double “ding”.
7.Brown Gerygone(Gerygonemouki)
Average length of Brown Gerygone(Gerygonemouki) is 10 centimeters and weight is 6 grams. It is a Small plain bird with thin bill. It’s Upperparts brown, under parts whitish, with gray face, red eye, and distinctive patch of white in under tail. Juveniles lack red eye and have yellow gape (base of bill). Inhabits rainforest, wet forest, and surrounding habitats of Eastern Australia. The Brown Gerygone is similar to both the Large-billed, G. magnirostris, and Mangrove,G. levigaster, Gerygones. The Brown Gerygone is one a group of species of small birds which were formerly known as warblers, due to their loud, melodious song. However, as they are not related to the ‘true warblers’ that occur in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia, their name was changed. Their new name, ‘gerygone’, which is pronounced ‘jer-ig-on-nee’, comes from Greek, meaning ‘the children of song’. It is also known as the Brown Warbler.
The tail feathers are dark and may be white-tipped. It feeds on insects. The brown Gerygone call is a soft what-is-it. In Victoria there has been a westward expansion of this species, with confirmed sightings in the Dandenong Ranges, East of Melbourne. It has been seen in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. The Brown Gerygone builds a rounded dome nest with a tapering ‘tail’ from roots, plant fibres, spider web, moss and lichens, which is suspended from a low branch or vine. Both parents feed their young ones.
8.Verdin(Ariparusflaviceps)
Average length of Verdin(Ariparusflaviceps) is 10 centimeters and weight is 7 grams. The Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps) is a species of penduline tit. Verdins are insectivorous, continuously foraging among the desert trees and scrubs. These restless birds comb the foliage of trees for insects and spiders, sometimes hanging upside down to investigate hard-to-reach places. They supplement their insect diet with fruits and even nectar, which they may sip from hummingbird feeders. Verdin rivals the American bushtit as one of the smallest passerines in North America. It is gray overall, and adults have a bright yellow head and rufous shoulder patch (the lesser coverts). Unlike the tits, it has a sharply pointed bill.
Juveniles have a light gray body without the rufous shoulder patch and yellow head. The base of the short bill is thick by the head, and draws to a sharp point at the tip. Their nests are best described as spherical masses of bulky twigs and branches that are then lined with grasses, feathers, and hair. Verdins nest in shrubs and thorny thickets with few trees. Both males and females build nests for roosting and nesting, and both incubate the eggs and tend to young. Clutch sizes vary from 3-6 eggs, which are light green with irregular dark red-brown spots, concentrated at the bottom end of the egg.
9.GoldenHeaded Cisticola(Cisticola Exiles)
Average length of GoldenHeaded Cisticola(Cisticola Exiles) is 10 centimeters and weight 8 grams. It is tiny, sandy-colored bird with short tail and dark-streaked back. Breeding adult males have orange-gold crown. Inhabits grasslands of northern and eastern Australia, where perches prominently. Very similar Zitting Cisticola always has a streaked crown and a very different “tick-tick-tick” song but otherwise almost identical. The Golden-headed cisticola (Cisticola exilis), also known as the bright-capped cisticola. It is a species of warbler in the family Cisticolidae. It is also known as the “finest tailor of all birds”. It constructs nests out of plants and spider threads.
This species has been known by several English names in addition to the golden-headed cisticola, including bright-capped cisticola, bright-headed cisticola, bright-crowned cisticola, gold-capped cisticola, yellow-headed cisticola, exile warbler and fan-tail warbler. Males slightly heavier than females. The Golden-headed cisticola is omnivorous, primarily eating invertebrates such as insects and small slugs, but also eating grass seeds. It usually inhabits a single place throughout its life, but habitat changes sometimes cause it to move to a different location. It produces a variety of sounds distinct from other birds, which, according to the Sunshine Coast Council, range from a “teewip” to a “wheezz, whit-whit”. It mates in the rainy season. Three to four eggs are laid at a time, which are incubated by the female, taking 11 days. After hatching, the female feeds the chicks and the male defends the nest, chasing away animals that come near it. Young remain in the nest for 11–13 days.
10.Lesser GoldFinch(Spinus Psaltria)
Average length of Lesser GoldFinch(Spinus Psaltria) is 10 centimeters and weight is 10 grams. The Lesser Goldfinch is known by its scientific name Spinus psaltria, is a small perching bird that’s common to the Southwestern United States. It is native to North America, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Though similar in looks to the common sparrow, these birds, unlike the sparrow, hail from the finch family. Lesser Goldfinches are beautiful songbirds whose scientific name is derived from the ancient Greek word for female harpists, psalteria. Lesser Goldfinch birds were first formally described by the American zoologist, Thomas Say. While American Goldfinches lose all the yellow color from their plumage in winter, the Lesser Goldfinch retains a yellow tone. Though, both Lesser Goldfinches and American Goldfinches have a grayish-toned bill in winter plumage.
It feeds in small groups moving through low weeds, shrubs and trees to take mainly small seeds, as well as buds, flowers, or fruits, often visits feeders. It’s a very common bird that’s found in multiple habitats at different elevations and has been observed to be a predominantly monogamous bird. It is particularly sexually dimorphic, with significant coloration differences between males and females. Nests generally were placed toward tips of long branches in the middle of ponderosa pines. Most nests were well concealed in needle clusters in trees near forest edges and openings. This petite species is not only the smallest North American SpinusFinch, it may be the smallest true Finch in the world. Males are easily recognized by their bright yellow under parts and big white patches in the tail (outer rectrices) and on the wings. Female is similar to American Goldfinch. Like other goldfinches, it has an undulating flight in which it frequently gives a call: in this case, a harsh chig chig chig.
