The Taino Native American people were the first people to meet Columbus in 1492. The hummingbird is an important symbol in Native American culture. It is seen as the symbol of the spreader of life on the Earth. It also symbolizes the rebirth of the Taino Indian Nation of the Caribbean and Florida. They call their warriors, Colibri Warriors or Hummingbird Warriors. This is because the hummingbird is viewed as being very peaceful but, it protects it own homeland with the heart of an Eagle.
Month: December 2008
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The Hummingbird’s Diet
Sugar water is insufficient as a long-term diet for hummingbirds and they can’t live on this alone. This mix only provides the carbohydrates they need. Hummingbirds also need fats and proteins that normally come from tiny insects. You can purchase Nektar-Plus, a water-soluble balanced hummingbird formula, from a local veterinarian who specializes in bird care.
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Hummingbirds are Non-Social
Just to give you some idea of how non-social and fiercely independent hummingbirds are by nature, hummingbirds do not depend on one another when trying to locate food or to fend off predators. These birds view each other as competitors for the nectar on which they depend.
Male and female hummingbirds do not form a pair bond, and the birds only remain together for courtship and mating. I do not know how long the courtship display itself last. The act of mating only takes about four (4) seconds. Needless to say, the male and female remain together for only an extremely brief period of time. This is fine with the female hummingbird, because the amount of help that the male hummingbird would provide is outweighed by the burden of having the male around computing for food. The female hummingbird bares the sole responsibility for building the nests and caring for the young birds once they are born. After mating, the male has no further responsibilities toward reproduction.
Have you ever wondered why hummingbirds seem to fight so much? Well, the information that follows will help explain this. It takes time for plants to secrete nectar into their flowers. Hummingbirds should time their visits to the flowers when the nectar supply is the greatest, but instead they wait until there other hummingbirds at the flowers wanting to feed as well. This results in the birds feeling the need to try and drive away anyone they view as their competition for the food supply.
I just recently discoved something absolutely amazing about female hummingbirds. They lay their eggs on different days rather then minutes or hours apart! Did you know this? I did not know this until doing some reasearch recently on the subeject of hummingbirds. This is the type of interesting and usual information about hummingbirds that I would have enjoyed sharing with my mom if she were still alive today, so I wanted to share it with you, my readers.
During a breading season, a female hummingbird can have two broods in a season. Although rare, a thrid is not unheard of and can occur. Usually, the female will lay two eggs each time. Normally, the eggs are laid in the morning. Surprisingly, these eggs aren’t born on the same day! There is usually one to two days between the laying of each egg!
How about it ladies, could you go for that long if you were having twins, tripplets, or other multiple births? Even though I myself have never before expecienced the joy of giving birth, I would bet not. This amazing bird truly fascinates me and I never cease to be amazed by it and this instance is no different. In fact, I am now even more awed by this tiny bird because of this very surprising discovery. How about you?
This video combines the use of video and still photos to show seven different species of hummingbirds which are found in Guatemala. This video was shot by someone there while in their backyard. Enjoy the video!