Body mass3 thousandths kg
10 millionthsFull bathtubs
30 billionPlatelet weights
27.3 quintillionHemoglobin molecule weights
About 3 grams
Photo on Unsplash
Hummingbird (Ruby-throated)
A flying jewel that beats its wings 53 times per second/Small Animals
The ruby-throated hummingbird is a 3-gram metabolic miracle that crosses the Gulf of Mexico nonstop during migration. Its heart beats over 1,200 times per minute during flight, and it can hover, fly backward, and even fly upside down briefly. At night it enters torpor, dropping its body temperature to save energy.
Measurements
Wingspan1 tenths m
71.8 trillionthsSun diameters
192 millionthsMall of America lengths
1.9 tenthsUkulele lengths
About 10 cm tip to tip
Wingbeat frequency53 Hz
106Pendulum clocks
1.32Popcorn pops
8.8 hundredthsMosquito wingbeats
53 beats per second in normal flight
Heart rate in flight20 Hz
157 millionSeasons
100Sprinkler rotations
4.5 hundredthsConcert A notes
About 1,200 bpm
Forward flight speed12 m/s
1.15Usain Bolts
40Conveyor belts
200Sloths
About 43 km/h
Body length8 hundredths m
8,000Dust particles
5.3 hundredthsBathtub lengths
Bill tip to tail
Gulf of Mexico crossing800,000 m
15.8 millionAA battery lengths
16.7Bahrain lengths
66,667House widths
Nonstop ~800 km over open water
Daily energy expenditure30,000 J
30 octillionWiFi photons
106 sextillionRed photons
About 30 kJ per day