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Hummingbird Food Hummingbirds

The Starts and Stops of Hummingbird Feeding

The hummingbird seems to eat almost constantly throughout the day, but there is a time of day when this begins and ends each day. The hummingbird will feed between 6-8 times per hour, but each meal only last approximately 30-60 seconds in length. Their first meal of the day takes place about ½ hour before sunrise and their last takes place about ½ hour after dark. Within the first few hours of being awake, the hummingbird will have already consumed some 25% of its daily food intake. This is necessary because the hummingbird will be going from the inactive state of torpor, which is very similar to hibernation, to being very active.

If you want to be of help to the hummingbirds, it is important to make sure your feeders remain full with nectar during these times of day. By doing so, you may play an active role in helping to ensure the survival of the hummingbird.

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Dear Mom Hummingbirds

Where Are Hummingbirds Not Found and More?

I was recently discussing the subject of hummingbirds with a friend and during our conversation I was explaining about the different places in the world where no hummingbirds are found. My friend was surprised by this information and this got me to thinking that you might be as well. This is the kind of information that I know my mom would have enjoyed discovering, so I cannot help but think of her as I write this post.

No hummingbird species are found in Hawaii. Also, you will not find any hummingbirds in Africa, Asia, Europe or Australia. As a person who so enjoys and is fascinated by hummingbirds, I wish these amazing creatures were found all over the world, but if they are not found where you live you will have to travel to be able to witness and experience these astonishing creatures.

Since you now know where hummingbirds are not found, you may be wondering where these birds can be found. Well, I have the answer for you. The simple answer is that hummingbirds are found only in the Americas. According to the website About.com, hummingbirds are found in the New world. The range of the hummingbird covers from Alaska to the southern tip of South America and includes the islands of the Caribbean. The vast majority of the 340 or so known species of hummingbirds are found Columbia, Brazil and Ecuador.

According to hummingbird expert Sheri L. Williamson, there are some 17 different species of hummingbirds which are found in the United States. This represents only 5 percent of the world’s hummingbird species. While this is only a small percentage of the world’s total number of hummingbird species, I myself am thrilled that we are fortunate enough to get to enjoy these amazing birds.

Well, I hope that you have enjoyed discovering some fascinating information about where it is that hummingbirds are not found and where these birds are indeed found. So as you can see, not everyone will have the opportunity to enjoy these birds. Please take advantage of every opportunity you have to watch and enjoy these fascinating birds.

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Hummingbirds

Hummingbird Nest Construction Time

Have you ever wanted to know about anything about the construction of a hummingbird’s nest? If so, then this post is one which you will particularly enjoy reading. This post will help you discover who is responsible for nest construction, how long construction of the nesting site takes and what materials are used in the building of the nest.

It is the female hummingbird who is responsible for constructing the nesting site. The nest construction will be completed in less then a week, but during this time the female hummingbird will work about four hours per day on it and make approximately 100 trips back and forth while doing so.

The foundation of a hummingbird’s nest is made of spider webs because of the sticky nature of this material. The next layers of the nest consist of soft materials such as moss or leaf hairs. These layers help give the nest its shape and then a mold is made and then more spider webs are added. Now a layer of camouflage is brought in and this can consist of anything from seeds to small twigs.

When it comes to their efforts to camouflage their nest a hummingbird is very creative in nature. Here is how a hummingbird tries to camouflage its nest. The camouflage is darker on shaded parts of the nest and lighter where it is sunnier, walls are thicker on the windier side and, for added comfort, and the inside of the nest is shaped by the mother’s own body.

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Hummingbird Food Hummingbirds

What is a Baby Hummingbird’s Diet?

I am constantly astounded by the constant discoveries about hummingbirds that I continue to make. This post is the direct result of one such discovery and it will discuss the diet of a baby hummingbird. I hope that you will find it as interesting as I myself did while doing the research for this post.

When a baby hummingbird is first born it is unable to eat nectar as an adult hummingbird would do. The mother hummingbird will feed on bugs and nectar which will then be regurgitated in the form of a slurry substance on which the baby hummingbirds are feed approximately every 20 minutes.

The mother hummingbird will signal to the baby hummingbirds that it is time to eat by landing on the nest which causes the babies to feel the wind from the mother’s wings and thus open their mouth. Using her beak the mother hummingbird will place the food (the slurry substance) inside the baby hummingbird’s mouth with the use of an up-and-down pumping motion.

If a baby hummingbird were fed only normal nectar this would cause harm to the baby hummingbird. The baby hummingbird would likely be severely crippled or even die, due to the fact the normal nectar lacks enough protein.

A baby hummingbird will begin to fly at about the age of three weeks. At this time, the mother hummingbird will accompany the young birds for a few more days to show the young where the best sources of nectar and bugs can be located. It is after this that the young birds are then left to live on their own.

Even though I have a large knowledge base on the subject of hummingbirds, I never want to stop learning about these amazing birds. I know I enjoy making these kinds of discoveries and it is my hope that you all will as well. This type of topic especially makes me think of my mom and our shared love of these birds, because I know she would have enjoyed making these same discoveries right along with each of you.

Categories
Hummingbirds

Is It a Male or Female Hummingbird?

Do you know how to tell the difference between a male and female hummingbird? This is often quite difficult to determine with certainty, but there are distinguishing characteristics which can help with this process. This includes size, migration habits, plumage and tail. This post will discuss the characteristics which will aide you in becoming more of an expert at determining if the hummingbird at your feeder is a male or a female.

Generally speaking, female hummingbirds are usually larger than male hummingbirds. This is not always the case though so this is not an absolutely foolproof way to help you determine the gender of the bird. Also, it is necessary for the female hummingbird to be slightly bigger to be able to produce eggs, to afford to share their body heat with the eggs while incubating, and to be able to share their food when feeding nestlings.

It is the male hummingbirds which migrate first before the females and the juveniles. The males will migrate up to three weeks ahead of the females and the juveniles, so if you think a hummingbird which is migrating early then this could indicate that the bird is a male hummingbird.

There is a difference in the plumage of the male and female hummingbird. It may come as a bit of a surprise to many of you, but it is only the male hummingbird which has the brilliant iridescent throat feathers. Just in case you were wondering, yes, these feathers serve two very important functions: attracting a female and defending their territory. They use these to display to one another. Females find it attractive, and other males are repelled. Male hummingbirds are extremely feisty and territorial and these feathers are part of their territorial display.

The tail of a hummingbird can provide a vital clue to help determine if it is a male or female hummingbird. Most of the time, the tail of an adult male hummingbird will be solid in color while most female and juveniles’ tails have white tipped rather then solid in color.

There is no absolutely foolproof method of determining the gender of a hummingbird, but with the aide of the characteristics listed above you should have much greater success in doing so. Best of luck everyone and happy birdwatching!