Vervain hummingbird

The vervain hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) is a species of hummingbird found in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, and is a vagrant to Puerto Rico. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and heavily degraded former forests.

Vervain hummingbird
In Jamaica
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Genus:	Mellisuga
Species:	M. minima
Binomial name
Mellisuga minima (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Trochilus minimus Linnaeus, 1758

It is considered the second-smallest bird in the world after the bee hummingbird. Typical length is 6 cm (2.4 in), including the bill, and weight is 2–2.4 g (0.071–0.085 oz).[2] It also has among the smallest eggs in the bird world, with an average length of 1 cm (0.39 in) and weight of 0.375 g.

• 
  Courting, Jamaica
• 
  On nest
• 
  Feeding, Jamaica

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Mellisuga minima". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22688229A93187970. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688229A93187970.en.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
2. Steven Latta; Christopher Rimmer; Allan Keith; James Wiley; Herbert Raffaele; Kent McFarland; Eladio Fernandez (15 May 2010). Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton University Press. pp. 135–. ISBN 978-0-691-11891-8. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

Further reading

• Raffaele, Herbert; James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith & Janis Raffaele (2003) Birds of the West Indies, Christopher Helm, London.