It's not the speed, there are faster, avian, predators.
It's the combination of small size, and manueverability. There aren't many predators (even ambush predators) who can catch them.
Given the aggressive nature hummingbirds have in the defense of territory, we can be very pleased they don't grow to the size of sparrows, much less pigeons.
Large, aggressive (I've seen them attacking cats) and fearless.
Re: Hummingbirds
It's not the speed, there are faster, avian, predators.
It's the combination of small size, and manueverability. There aren't many predators (even ambush predators) who can catch them.
Given the aggressive nature hummingbirds have in the defense of territory, we can be very pleased they don't grow to the size of sparrows, much less pigeons.
Large, aggressive (I've seen them attacking cats) and fearless.
Yikes.