Smallest organisms
With a mass of approximately and a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in), the bee hummingbird ("Mellisuga helenae") is the world's smallest bird species and the smallest warm-blooded vertebrate. Called the "zunzún" in its native habitat on Cuba, it is lighter than a Canadian or U.S. penny. It is said that it is "more apt to be mistaken for a bee than a bird". The bee hummingbird eats half its total body mass and drinks eight times its total body mass each day. Its nest is 3 cm across.
Lesser sand plover
The lesser sand plover ("Charadrius mongolus") is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as lesser sand-plover, but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "lesser sand plover". The genus name "Charadrius" is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek "kharadrios" a bird found in ravines and river valleys ("kharadra", "ravine"). The specific "mongolus" is Latin and refers to Mongolia which at the time of naming referred to a larger area than the present country.