In one day, the bee hummingbird may visit 1,500 flowers. It is a diurnal bird that can fly at 40-48 km/h, and it beats its wings 80-200 times per second, which allows it to remain stationary in the air to feed on flowers. The bee hummingbird lives up to seven years in the wild, and 10 years in captivity.

The bee hummingbird has also been described as the smallest known dinosaur. This characterization is based upon the recognition that birds are a living form of theropod