Category: Hummingbirds

If you find an injured hummingbird on the ground, there are things you can do to help ensure the bird’s survival until you can get it to a wild life rehabilitation expert. The information contained in this post comes from Project Wildlife, which may be contacted at the following phone number in order to obtain further information: (619) 225-9202.

You will want to place the injured hummingbird and the material it is sitting on, on some crumpled tissue in a small box which has some holes in the lid. This is to ensure that the bird is receiving enough air.

You should always use tissue or paper towels, NOT a wash cloth. The reason for this is because the bird’s feet may become entangled in the cloth. In addition, you should provide the bird with a low heat source. A word of caution here: you must be certain not to overheat the bird. So, how will you know if the hummingbird is overheated? If it starts open-mouth breathing or its neck is outstretched, it is too hot.

Hummingbirds must eat frequently and will die within four hours if not fed. Offer adult hummers a sugar water mixture of 1 part sugar to four parts water. Hummingbird babies that are fed sugar water or commercial hummingbird nectar for more than 24 hours may develop crippling deformities.

If you find an injured hummingbird, please get it to a wildlife rehabilitation expert as quickly as is humanly possible. Until then, following the information listed above will help the bird have the best possible chance of survival.

P.S. On a personal note, I apologize for the fact that there were no new post for the past several days. This could not be helped, as my Internet was down, I had to wait on a friend with computer repair knowledge to come fix the issue.

The Sword-billed Hummingbird is found in the Andes Mountains and its bill is up to 4 inches in length.

The sword-billed hummingbird has a bill which is longer than its body. This enables it to feed on flowers with long corollas.

When feeding, the tongue of a hummingbird extends beyond its bill and contracts about 13 times per second, allowing it to lap up nectar.

When the sword-billed hummingbird perches, it holds its beak almost vertical in order to help reduce the strain on its neck. .

I must admit that prior to doing some research for future blog post, I myself had never before heard of the Booted Racket-tail Hummingbird. Since that is true of me, maybe the same can be said for you, my readers, as well. Unfortunately, even after doing research on the Booted Racket-tail Hummingbird, very little seems to be known about this particular species. Here is what little information I did discover about this species of hummingbird.

The Booted Racket-tail Hummingbird can be found in the rainforests of Peru.

The tail of the Booted Racket-tail hummingbird is a feature that helps makes this hummingbird species easier to identify then many others. This is because the tail of this hummingbird is split into what can be compared to two tennis rackets with elongate handles and small heads.

Unfortunately, this is all the information I could find on this particular species of hummingbird. Hope you enjoyed discovering a small bit about this unusually named species of hummingbird.

Did you know that not every species of hummingbird migrates? Well, this is true. Of the hummingbird species which do migrate, have you ever wondered why this occurs? No one knows with absolute certainty why it is that hummingbirds migrate, but there are several possible theories available as to why this might occur. This post will examine these.

One possible theory is that the hummingbirds are aware of the changes in the amount of daylight and also the amount of insects and flower nectar available prior to migrating.

Another theory is that chemical changes take place within the bird’s body that let it know that it is time to migrate.

There are also those that believe the hummingbirds are following the flower or insect population and that this is what is responsible for the migration of the hummingbirds.

It is important to remember that these possible explanations as to why hummingbirds migrate are only theories and that no one truly knows why this occurs. These theories are interesting to consider, but I think there has to be more to this matter then is currently known. After all, if these theories were completely true, then how come all hummingbird species do not migrate?

The beak or bill of a hummingbird is extremely small. It is not uncommon for a hummingbird to get their beak or bill stuck in window screens. This can not only harm the hummingbird but can cause the bird to starve to death if it is not rescued or removed from the screen quickly. To help you better understand this man made danger to the hummingbird, I thought it would help if you understood more about the hummingbird’s beak or bill.

The beak or bill on a hummingbird is longer in proportion to their body than other birds. This is so they can reach deep down into tubular flowers to extract the nectar from it. Many people have the misconception that the hummingbird’s beak is hollow, but this is not true. The hummingbird does not drink nectar up as if drinking it through a straw.

The beak or bill has an upper and lower portion, much like any other bird. Both the upper and lower beak is covered in a substance called rhamphotheca. This sheath is made of a keratin like material much like your fingernails. The top of the beak, called the maxilla, overlaps the lower beak slightly. The lower beak is also slightly flexible and can widen and bend lightly downward as the hummingbirds open their mouths. Hummingbirds have a joint in the upper jaw, just behind the maxilla. This joint enables the maxilla to bend back toward the head slightly as the hummingbirds open their mouths. When a hummingbird is less than one year of age, the maxilla is rough with corrugations along the sides and edges. Hummingbirds older than one year of age have smoother sides and edges. A few adult hummingbirds will have some minor corrugations throughout their lifetimes.

There is no way to know how frequently a hummingbird’s beak or bill becomes stuck in a window screen. You just need to be aware that window screens can be a man made danger to hummingbirds due to the fact that their beak or bill can get stuck in there. If this occurs, you may need to help remove the bird or it may quickly starve to death and die as a result of its bill or beak getting stuck in the window screen.

The information contained in this post about the hummingbird’s break or bill is not mine. It comes from the World of Hummingbirds.Com and I wish to give proper credit to that source.