Vervain Hummingbird
Encyclopedia
The Vervain Hummingbird, Mellisuga minima, is a species of hummingbird
in the Trochilidae family.
It is found in the Dominican Republic
, Haiti
and Jamaica
, and is a vagrant to Puerto Rico
.
Its natural habitat
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
s and heavily degraded former forest.
It is of note as being allegedly the second smallest bird in the world after its close cousin, the Bee Hummingbird
. Typical length is 6 cm (2.4 in), including the bill, and weight is 2-2.4 grams. It also allegedly has the smallest egg in the bird world, with an average length of 1 cm (0.39 in) and weight of 0.375 grams.
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
in the Trochilidae family.
It is found in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and is a vagrant to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and heavily degraded former forest.
It is of note as being allegedly the second smallest bird in the world after its close cousin, the Bee Hummingbird
Bee Hummingbird
The Bee Hummingbird or Zunzuncito is a species of hummingbird that is endemic to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud...
. Typical length is 6 cm (2.4 in), including the bill, and weight is 2-2.4 grams. It also allegedly has the smallest egg in the bird world, with an average length of 1 cm (0.39 in) and weight of 0.375 grams.