Month: August 2008

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Dear Mom

How Do Hummingbirds Hover?

If you are like most people, one of the many things you admire most about the hummingbird is its amazing ability to hover.  These tiny birds never cease to amaze us with their ability to do so for such long periods of time.  As a result, I know that my mom would have been interested in this post and I hope you will be also.

Hummingbirds have the ability to hover better than any other species of bird due to the unusual structure of their wings.  They have the ability to do so because their wings are permmanently fixed and rigid, except at the shoulder joint, which allows the wing to move freely in all directions.

When hovering, a hummingbird’s wing moves forward, and then the leading edge rotates nearly 180 degrees and moves back again.  This wing movement causes the tips of the wings to trace a horzontal figure eight in the air.

Categories
Hummingbird Videos

Hummingbird Banding

This video is about humming banding efforts.  This video shows banding being done along the San Pedro River.  It is my hope that this brief video will help you understand why banding efforts are so important and also why they are so difficult to accomplish.

 

Unusual Predators of the Hummingbird

The hummingbird faces many predators, but some are more unusual then others. This includes the frog and even a bass fish. Frogs can capture a hummingbird, although the result is probably death to both. According to The Hummingbird Society, there is at least one report in the literature of a bass fish capturing a hummingbird.
 
The spider can even be seen as an unusual predator of the hummingbird. The hummingbird uses spider webs as a source of material in the construction of their nest, because it is necessary to bind the nest to the tree branch and to hold the nest together. The hummingbird must be extremely careful while removing the pieces of webbing, for it may become entangled and be trapped there. The Spider’s silk has a strength that is comparable to steel on a weight basis.
 
These are not the only known predators of hummingbirds, but they are some of the more unusual ones. Let us hear from you if you know of other unusual predators of the hummingbird. 

How Many Species of Hummingbirds Exist?

Have you ever wondered how many species of hummingbirds exist?  The exact answer to this question will depend on which  reference source you consult, but I have read that there are between 330-340 different species of hummingbirds found in the world. In the United States there are 17 different species of hummingbirds found here.  That number represents 5 percent of the hummingbird population.   Costa Rica has 55 different species of hummingbirds. These numbers may change depending on whether or not the species is facing extenction or if a new species of hummingbird should be discovered in the future.  Lastly, it may suprise you to discover that are absolutely no species of hummingbirds found in Hawaii.

The Amazing Vision of a Hummingbird

A hummingbird’s vision is greater then a human’s, because they can see at a greater distance then we can and they can see into the ultra violet range which we as human’s cannot do. Hummingbirds also have the ability to react to sights more quickly then we can. As most people know hummingbirds are very attracted to the color red. The reason for this is probably due to the fact that red is the color of many nectar-producing blooms. It is important to remember that even though red is known to attract hummingbirds they will visit flowerers of other colors as well.