A bee hummingbird is about 5 to 6 centimetres long from beak to tail - roughly the length of your little finger. The male has a brilliant reddish-pink head that catches the sunlight and flashes like a tiny jewel. The female is slightly larger and has a green back with a pale belly. Both are incredibly fast, zipping between flowers with a buzzing hum that gives all hummingbirds their name.
Bee hummingbirds feed on nectar, the sweet liquid inside flowers. To drink, they hover in the air and push their long, thin beaks deep into the flower. While feeding, pollen sticks to their feathers and gets carried to the next flower - making hummingbirds very important pollinators. A single bee hummingbird may visit over 1,500 flowers in a single day.
The bee hummingbird builds a nest that is about the size of a bottle cap - possibly the tiniest nest of any bird in the world. It lays two eggs, each about the size of a pea. The chicks hatch after about 14 days and grow quickly on a diet of nectar and tiny insects. Because they live only in Cuba, protecting the island's forests and gardens is essential for keeping this unique bird alive.