Imagine trying to survive in gardens, forests and mountains across the Americas. For many animals, a habitat like this would be impossible. Yet the hummingbird, a bird about 8 centimeters long, thrives there, thanks to features that scientists call adaptations: traits that help a living thing survive in its environment.
Consider wings that beat up to 80 times a second: this adaptation let it hover in one place and even fly backward. The word hover refers to to stay in one place in the air. Equally important is a long, thin beak and tongue, which reach nectar deep inside flowers. Without these traits, the hummingbird would struggle to last a single season.
As an omnivore, the hummingbird is an animal that eats both plants and animals; it depends on flower nectar and tiny insects. Its behavior matters as much as its body: it visits hundreds of flowers every day to get enough energy. Behaviors like this are adaptations too, even though you cannot see them in a photograph.
The next generation faces the same challenges. Young hummingbirds, called chicks, depend on their surroundings and on adult care. Its nest is about the size of a walnut shell and is held together with spider silk.
Perhaps most remarkable of all: to save energy on cold nights, a hummingbird slows its heartbeat and goes into a deep, sleep-like state. Facts like this remind us that every animal's body tells a story about the place it lives.