Photo: Oiseaux The bee bird is the smallest bird in the world: only the size of a bee, body less than 5cm long, weighing about 2g, distributed in the dense forests of South America and Central America. When it flies to find honey, it also makes “oo…” sounds like a bee.

There are many types of bees, about more than 300 varieties. Feather colors include green, blue, black, yellow,… (there are more than 10 colors), so they have many different names such as: magic bird, comet bird, forest pupa bird, flower queen bird. ..The bird is small, very beautiful and flies well. Wings beat 50-70 times/second. The flight speed is very fast, up to 50km/h, and an altitude of 4-5 thousand meters. People often only hear the sound of its flight, rarely see it. The strange thing is that its heart beats up to 615 times/minute. It not only flies high and fast but also flies very far.

Every year, red-breasted bees fly continuously over the Gulf of Mexico more than 800km. Bees eat nectar and small insects. It has a needle-shaped suction beak and a tongue that sticks out and curls in comfortably. When sucking nectar, it first uses its beak to spread the flowers, then uses its tongue to lick the nectar disc. It often sucks nectar and pollinates loquat trees, mother trees, bell trees… which can be said to be the most industrious “farmers” in the world. Birds and bees build nests in trees. The bird’s nest is very beautiful, elegant and delicate like a fine art textile, looking up it looks like a small wine glass. The female bird lays 2 eggs at a time, only the size of a pea, each egg is only about 0.15g; It is estimated that there are about 200 new bee eggs equal to one normal chicken egg. It takes 14-20 days to hatch and newly hatched bees can fly off to find food alone.

The bee bird is the symbol of Trimidad and Tobago, representing the hardworking spirit of the people of this country.