Category: Dear Mom

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird: More Red Feathers As It Ages?

It always amazes me how various misinformation or myths about hummingbirds get started and just will not go away. Today’s post was inspired by one such piece of misinformation and my desire to help try to set the record strait.

In spite of the fact the fact that may people believe otherwise, the male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds do not gradually grow in a greater number of red throat feathers as they age. This is false! The male Ruby-throated Hummingbird will molt just like other birds.

Here is a brief explanation of the term molt and why it is necessary. The process of molting is when a bird will loose their feathers a few at a time. This will occur symmetrically or one from each side in order not to affect flight. How long the process takes to complete varies from weeks or months depending on the time of year it is occurring and the species of bird. This process would not be noticeable to the casual birdwatcher.

Hummingbirds will begin to molt between September and November. It will then take several weeks for each feather to regain its size and shape.

Why is molting necessary? Molting allows the bird to replace their worn out feathers with new ones. Feathers are vitally important to the bird. The feathers help provide weather protection for the bird and in some bird species (not hummingbirds) the molting process can even help the birds attract a mate.

It is possible for some immature males have a few scattered red throat feathers in late summer or early fall, but the their full red gorget is not grown in until they are ready to migrate northward from their Central American breeding grounds. Maybe this fact explains why many people mistakenly believe that male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds grow in a greater number of red throat feathers as they grow older.

This post brings to mind my mom, who I am quite sure would be very interested in the topic of today’s post and who would likely be surprised by the answer as well. It is my hope that you too will be fascinated by the subject of today’s post as well.

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

The Tiny Size of Hummingbird Eggs

As one of the smallest bird species it is not surprising to discover that the hummingbird lays the smallest eggs of all birds. Have you ever wondered about the size of hummingbird eggs? If so, this post will provide you with the answer you seek.

Just how tiny are the eggs of a hummingbird? The answer may surprise many of you. The eggs measure less than 1/2 an inch long. Even at this tiny size the eggs may represent as much as 10 percent of the mother’s weight at the time the eggs are laid. I do not know about you but I find it astounding that something so tiny could represent that much of the mother’s weight at the time the eggs are laid.

This kind of information makes me think of my mom and our shared love of hummingbirds. This is the kind of information that she would have found to be interesting and that I would have enjoyed getting to share with her. It is my hope that you too will enjoy discovering this information as well.

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds By the Numbers

There are approximately 340 different species of hummingbirds in the world, yet hummingbirds make up only a small portion of the world’s total number of nearly 10,000 different bird species.

Of the approximately 340 different hummingbird species, there are only 8 species which are known to breed in the United States.

I majored in accounting in college, so numbers have always interested me. As a result, I find statistical data on hummingbirds to be quite fascinating because I can compare it to other species of birds and see where the hummingbird ranks compared to other species of birds.

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

What Is the Longest Hummingbird Migration?

The Rufous Hummingbird has the longest migration of any hummingbird species with a distance of more than 3,000 miles from the bird’s nesting grounds in Alaska and Canada to its winter habitat in Mexico.

This is a fact about hummingbirds that my mom would have enjoyed discovering, so I cannot help but think of her as well as all the readers of this blog as I was trying to determine what I would post for today. I hope you too have enjoyed discovering which hummingbird species has the longest migration journey.

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

Is the Nest Abandoned Or Not?

A relative had found a hummingbird nest in their yard and they then spent the next several days observing it and the activity of the mother feeding her young. I then received a call because the relative was concerned because they feared the young hummingbird had been abandoned by its mother. They wanted to know what to do if anything. My advice follows and I know that my mom would have been fascinated by the situation as well.

It is very rare for abandonment to occur but it can happen. Take note of whether the young appear to be healthy. This is a good sign that the young are being well cared for. It is likely that the mother bird has gone in search of food to feed the young and will eventually return to the nest. Another possible explanation may be that due to the young hummingbird’s stage of development the need for feeding may occur very infrequently and you are therefore unable to observe it happening.

The best advice I can offer is that you will need to watch the nest continuously for an hour or longer to know if the mother hummingbird has returned to the nest or not. If after all this, you have not seen the mother hummingbird return, I would then finally recommend that you contact a wildlife expert for further assistance with handling the matter.

I am happy to report that the nest in my relative’s yard had not been abandoned, as the relative saw the mother hummingbird later in the day. Of course, this news made me quite happy, but I was also pleased to be able to provide them with the knowledge and assistance required. I sincerely hope this information could also benefit you if it ever became necessary.