Hummingbird True or False Quiz
This quick quiz highlights some little-known facts and dispels
some misconceptions about hummingbirds. Use the quiz as a pre-
and post-assessment. As your class learns more about hummingbirds,
let them add their own items to the quiz or create a whole new
quiz for another class to take.
___ 1. Hummingbirds eat only flower nectar.
___ 2. Hummingbirds can fly upside down.
___ 3. Hummingbirds suck nectar from flowers.
___ 4. Hummingbirds migrate on the backs of Canada geese.
___ 5. A hummingbird’s heart beats more than 1,000 times per minute.
___ 6. Hummingbirds search for nectar only from red flowers.
___ 7. Leaving up a hummingbird feeder late into fall can slow or
prevent migration.
___ 8. Hummingbirds are most attracted to flowers with strong fragrances.
___ 9. Each hummingbird species makes a different “humming” sound.
___ 10. Hummingbirds will attack larger birds such as crows and hawks.
Answers
1. False. As hummingbirds need protein, they eat small insects and spiders.
They also feed on tree sap and sugar water in hummingbird feeders.
2. True. Hummingbirds can fly upside down briefly, by doing a backward somersault.
3. False. Hummingbirds do not suck nectar. They lap up the nectar at about
13 licks per second!
4. False. Hummingbirds and Canada geese migrate at different times, live in
different habitats, and migrate to different areas.
5. True. A hummingbird’s heart beats 1,260 times per minute, or 21 times per
second!
6. False. Hummingbirds are most attracted to red but will feed from any nectar-producing
flowers.
7. False. Hummingbirds migrate based on changes in day length not availability
of food.
8. False. Hummingbirds do not have a well-developed sense of smell. They locate
their food by eyesight.
9. True. The rush of air created by the wings makes a different humming, buzzing,
or whistling sound in each species.
10. True. Hummingbirds are fiercely aggressive and are not intimidated by size.
They have been observed attacking crows, hawks, and other larger birds.
Click here for an expanded online version of this lesson activity.
