The ruby-throated hummingbird weighs less than a nickel. Every fall it flies about 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico. The crossing takes 18 to 20 straight hours, no rest, no food. For decades, people doubted something so small could cross alone. Folklore said they hitched rides on migrating geese. They don't. They fly it solo, on fat they'd doubled. Every September, it happens again.
