If you find an injured or orphaned hummingbird on the ground, lift it along with the material it is sitting on, and place it on crumpled tissue in a small box with holes in the lid.
Always use tissue or paper towels, NOT cloth. The bird’s feet may become entangled in the cloth. Provide the bird with a low heat source, but be careful not to overheat the bird. If it starts open-mouth breathing or its neck is outstretched, it is too hot.

Hummingbirds can become very ill if they are not fed every four hours during the day. Offer adult hummingbirds a sugar water mixture of 1 part sugar to four parts water. Hummingbirds have very high metabolisms and should be transferred to a rehabber as soon as possible so that they can be started on a properly balanced diet. Hummingbirds cannot survive purely on sugar water or commercial nectar.

IF YOU FIND A BABY HUMMINGBIRD, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED IT! GET HELP IMMEDIATELY.

• Try to keep the baby in the nest if possible.
• If not, line a plastic margarine cup with tissue and keep the baby warm (this is essential) by placing it under a gooseneck lamp about 5 inches away from the bulb.
• Do not overheat the bird. If it starts open-mouth breathing or its neck is outstretched, it is too hot.
• Overheating can kill the bird.
• Keep the baby warmed to an outside temperature—between 85—90 degrees.

• Identified by their small size, elongated beaks, hovering flight, and extendable tongues
• Only found in the Americas; most are tropical or sub-tropical
• As long as there are many nectar-producing flowers in the area, hummingbirds can feed and nest there. This includes areas 5000 meters above sea level
• 90% of diet comes from nectar while the other 10% is from insects such as flies and wasps
• Predators include snakes, falcons, and owls. Nest predators include jays and some bats
• Able to live up to 10 years
• Males breed with multiple females and then leave the task of nest building and caring for offspring to them
• Breeding occurs when conditions permit, and can happen up to two times in one year
• Females lay 2 eggs during breeding season
• Valuable for pollination of a wide variety of plants
• Smaller hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 70-80 times per second
• Heartbeats range from 500-600 beats per minute when the hummingbird is resting and can skyrocket past 1000 beats per minute when in motion
• At night goes into torpor, a state of suspended animation, to conserve energy
• Unlike most other vertebrates, hummingbirds can see ultraviolet light, which may help them find flowers with ultraviolet patterns

• Do not place hummingbird feeders near a window. Although beautiful to watch, hummingbirds may fly to the feeder reflected in the window and injure themselves on the glass.
• Never use honey to make hummingbird food; always make the food with clean water and pure white sugar; 4 parts water to one part sugar. Change the feeder every few days to avoid bacterial growth.
• Keep your pet cat indoors if you have hummingbirds in your yard. Due to their tiny size, hummingbirds are easy prey to an agile cat.
  
  

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