Hummingbirds have compact, strongly muscled bodies and rather long, bladelike wings that, unlike the wings of other birds, articulate (connect) to the body only from the shoulder joint. Weighing about 2 g, this species is the smallest living bird and ranks with the pygmy shrews as the smallest of warm-blooded vertebrates. The smallest species, the bee hummingbird ( Mellisuga, sometimes Calypte, helenae) of Cuba and the Isle of Pines, measures slightly more than 5.5 cm, of which the bill and tail make up about half. Even the largest, the giant hummingbird ( Patagona gigas) of western South America, is only about 20 cm (8 inches) long, with a body weight of about 20 g (0.7 ounce), less than that of most sparrows.
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