A bee hummingbird dwarfed by a single blossomThe smallest bird in the world, about 6 cm long and 2 g. Make the flower the bigger shape.
A giant hummingbird hovering on slow wingbeatsThe largest kind, 23 cm long, with a straight bill longer than its head and about 12 to 15 wingbeats a second.
A hummingbird and a hawk-moth, alike in mid-airThe hummingbird hawk-moth is a large insect that hovers too. Give the moth antennae and the bird a bill.
A hummingbird backing away from a blossomThe wings allow flight any way, like a helicopter. Tilt the body back, bill just clear of the petals.
A hummingbird feeding at a scentless red tube blossomThey favor scentless flowers in bright red, yellow or purple. Bill level with the flower, wings a blur.
A hummingbird in mid-air, feet tucked out of sightIn flight the feet fold up beneath the body. Draw no legs at all, only a smooth belly line.
A hummingbird snapping up a gnat in mid-airNectar is the main food, but every kind also eats small insects. Bill open a crack, one gnat ahead.
A hummingbird whose wings are fans of fine pencil strokesThey hover on rapid wingbeats, from about 12 a second in the largest kind to 99 in small ones.
A hummingbird with pollen dusted along its billPollen collects on the bill as the bird feeds at flowers. Dot it on in yellow near the tip.
A sword-billed hummingbird reaching into a long flowerIts bill is 8 to 12 cm, longer than its body without the tail. Keep the bird far back from the flower.
A white-tipped sicklebill clinging to a curved flowerIts curved bill matches the shape of the flowers it uses, and it typically clings to the flower to feed.
Two hummingbirds sharing one blossom, mirror imagesMirror the two birds. The wing hum is a signal that alerts other birds, so each knows the other is there.
Wings and tails 12
A bee hummingbird's tail with a white spot at each tipThe tips of its tail feathers have white spots. Fan five or six feathers and dot each end.
A black-chinned hummingbird's dark forked tailThe adult male's tail is dark and forked. The female's is dark and rounded, with white tips.
A booted racket-tail: leg puffs and two tail racketsWhite or buff puffs on the legs like boots, and on males a pair of dark bluish racket-shaped tail tips.
A hummingbird perched on a twig, three toes forwardShort legs, three toes pointing ahead, one back. The feet grip to perch.
A hummingbird shuffling sideways along a twigThey do not walk or hop like most birds. They shuffle sideways. Draw two positions and an arrow.
A hummingbird's blade-like wing, spread flatThe body is compact and the wings are long and bladelike. Draw the wing as one narrow curved blade.
A long-tailed sylph trailing 12 cm tail feathersThe outer tail feathers are about 12 cm long and the inner ones very short. Blue, green and violet above.
A male hummingbird in a display dive from 30 mIn display, males of some kinds dive from about 30 m at around 23 m a second. Draw the path as a steep U.
A marvelous spatuletail's two crossing tail racketsTwo outer tail feathers have bare shafts that cross and finish in big purple-black discs.
A rufous hummingbird fanning its rufous tailThe male's face, flanks and tail are rufous and his breast is white. Open the tail like a hand of cards.
Anna's hummingbird tails: his forked, hers roundedHis is dark and slightly forked. Hers is dark and rounded, the outer feathers tipped white.
One wingbeat as a strip of eight small drawingsThe hum comes from both the downstroke and the upstroke. Show four frames going down and four coming up.
Bills and throats by kind 12
A bee hummingbird male, scarlet gorget with side plumesA bright red throat and an iridescent scarlet gorget with long plumes at each side. Bluish upper parts.
A black-chinned hummingbird, purple under a black chinIn sunlight a purple gorget shows as a ring just below the black chin feathers.
A broad-tailed hummingbird's rose-red gorgetThe male has a bright rose-red gorget. Leave one small patch of paper white where the light hits.
A calliope hummingbird's wine-red throat streaksThe gorget is a set of wine-red streaks, not a solid patch, and the feathers can spread outward.
A Costa's hummingbird, purple throat flared backA purple cap and throat; the throat feathers flare out and back past the head.
A giant hummingbird's eye-ring and long straight billDull colors for a hummingbird, with a ring around the eye and a straight bill longer than the head.
A ruby-throated hummingbird's straight, slender billThe bill is long and straight and thin, up to 2 cm. The red throat patch gives the bird its name.
A rufous hummingbird's orange-red throat patchAn iridescent orange-red gorget above a white breast, with a rufous face around it.
A sword-billed hummingbird in profile, all billThe only bird with a bill longer than its body, not counting the tail. Draw the bill first.
A white-tipped sicklebill's sharply curved billGreen above, blackish on the throat and chest, and striped green and white on the belly.
An Anna's hummingbird male, crimson crown and gorgetThe only North American hummingbird with a red crown. Out of direct sun the red can look dull brown or gray.
One gorget drawn twice: in sun and out of itA gorget brightens or dims with the viewing angle. Draw the same bib once bright and once nearly dark.
Nests and chicks 12
A bee hummingbird's nest lined with plant woolThe smallest bird lines its nest with soft plant wool. Draw the lining as fine loops.
A calliope hummingbird's nest on a pine coneIt is often built on the base of a large pine cone, and looks rather like a pine cone itself.
A Costa's hummingbird's nest on a yucca stalkThis kind places its nest on a yucca stalk or a tree limb. One small cup against one tall stem.
A female hummingbird sitting in her small cup nestOnly the female builds the nest. Draw the cup first, about 3.8 cm across, then fit the bird into it.
A hummingbird asleep on a twig at night, in torporTo save energy at night they can enter torpor, slowing the body to a fifteenth of its normal rate.
A hummingbird chick fed from its mother's long billChicks are fed only by the mother, by regurgitation. Her bill points down into the open beak.
A hummingbird fledgling's first awkward flightFledglings are awkward fliers at first and are still fed by their mother. Tilt the body off level.
A hummingbird nestling flapping at the nest rimAs their feathers grow, nestlings flap more and more. They leave about three weeks after hatching.
A hummingbird's cup nest fixed to a thin branchA cup about 3.8 cm across, attached with spider web, lichen, moss and loose plant fibers.
A nest wall close up: spider web, lichen and mossWeb strands bind the cup and lichen and moss cover it. Draw the strands thin, crossing in all directions.
Two hummingbird nestlings, bills pointing upTwo chicks to a nest is typical. Two round heads above the rim and two short bills aimed at the sky.
Two pea-sized white eggs in a hummingbird nestTypically two white eggs the size of peas, the smallest of any bird. Draw them from straight above.
How it works
Hummingbirds to draw, 48 of them: hovering at a flower, wings and tails, bills and throats of named kinds, and nests and chicks. The page opens on the 18 easy ones.
Read the full guide
The shape of a hummingbird
A compact body, long blade-like wings and a long narrow bill, straight or strongly curved. In flight the feet are tucked up out of sight. The throat patch of a male is called a gorget, and it turns from bright to dark with the angle of the light.
From a blur of wings to a tail with rackets
Easy keeps to one bird and one feature: a forked tail, a cup nest, two eggs the size of peas. Choose Any level under the button for all 48. Kind, under More filters, keeps the list to one group. Hard has the marvelous spatuletail, whose two tail feathers cross and end in discs.
Draw a hovering wing as a fan of fine lines. Small kinds beat up to 99 times a second.
Questions and answers
What is the easiest hummingbird to draw?
One perched on a twig: a small oval body, a round head and a long narrow bill, with the feet gripping. A hovering bird with no legs showing is nearly as plain. Easy holds 18.
What is the patch on a hummingbird's throat called?
A gorget: a bib-like patch of iridescent neck feathers, mostly on males. Its brilliance changes with the viewing angle, so the same patch can look bright from one side and dark from another.
How big is a hummingbird's nest?
About 3.8 cm across: a small cup that the female fixes to a branch with spider web, lichen, moss and plant fibers. It typically holds two white eggs the size of peas, the smallest eggs of any bird.
What is the smallest hummingbird?
The bee hummingbird, about 6 cm long and 2 g, which is also the smallest bird in the world. The largest kind is the giant hummingbird, at 23 cm.