![]() ![]() When it comes to flying, nobody does it better. The hummingbird is fearless, as it can outmaneuver everything unless taken by surprise. Other hummers and even other kinds of birds often join in to dive-bomb the intruder until it leaves. If a hummingbird sees a hawk or other bird that it doesn’t want in its territory, it gives a high-pitched warning and starts doing dive attacks. Luckily, people today realize that the feathers look much better on the birds! In the mid-1800s, hundreds of thousands of hummingbirds were killed for their feathers, and some almost became extinct. Most hummingbirds are colored in shades of blue and green, with the male being much brighter than the female after all, she has to blend in to her nest while incubating her eggs. Common names such as green-crowned comet, sapphire-vented puffleg, and ruby-throated describe the beautiful, fancy feathers of hummers. Hummingbirds come in all colors of the rainbow, and some of their feathers actually change color as they move in the light. ![]() They also snack on insects, which they often catch by “hawking.” A hummingbird “hawks” insects by flying and diving to snap them up out of the air. Hummingbirds are called nectivores, because about 90 percent of their diet is the nectar from flowers. The bill protects the long, split tongue and allows each kind of hummingbird to feed from specific types of flowers. ![]() The long, slender bill is adapted to collect nectar from flowers. Hummingbird bills come in different sizes and shapes, too. The smallest is the bee hummingbird from Cuba, and the largest is the giant hummingbird from South America. These energetic dynamos have been around for ages hummingbird fossils found in Germany are said to be more than 30 million years old. In the Caribbean, people call the hummingbird el zunzun. Their name refers to the humming sound made by their tiny, beating wings each species creates a different humming sound, depending on the speed of its wing beats. ![]() These enchanting birds are found in deserts, mountains, and plains, but most live in tropical rainforests. Take a listen to the hummer's wings at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's audio of the ruby-throated hummingbird and you'll see what I mean by the sound of mini airplanes.Little birds with big appeal: Hummingbirds include the smallest birds in the world, but they belong to one of the largest group of birds, the Trochilidae family. Sometimes it sounds like mini airplanes buzzing by, as their wings dart from feeder to feeder. It seems the 'city' hummers I have like to dive bomb at each other, keeping one from another on each feeder very jealously (even though I have four feeders plus plantings throughout my garden). I don't get flocks of them as some folks do, where they all feed harmoniously together. Can you imagine the energy these little creatures expend on a daily basis? They never cease to inspire and amaze me, given their size. I have only seen photos of their nests, and they are about the size of a quarter, as seen in this link: It is said the best way to detect the nest is to let the female direct you to it, but the nest can be nearly a mile away from the food sources. I have yet to spot a hummingbird nest in my yard, which would be my own personal hummingbird garden nirvana. ![]()
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