I recently came across a term relating to hummingbird feeding that I had not heard before, so I thought I’d share it with you as well. The term is called traplining, which is when hummingbirds feed by sight on regularly followed routes. I knew that hummingbirds had no known sense of smell and were therefore dependent on their sight to locate their food but I didn’t realize that they followed a set route. Isn’t that amazing? It appears that hummingbirds are quite the little creatures of habit, because they follow a set route when looking for their food and they even follow the exact same migratory path each time.
One reply on “What is Traplining?”
The idea of Traplining with Hummingbirds is believable to me because I had noticed that other birds tend to follow set flight paths going to-and-from feeders and their perching points in the yard. If feeders are moved too often, birds must apply extra effort to become accustomed to new flight paths. Therefore, I am not surprised to hear that hummingbirds have habitual paths when traveling between food sources. Great article…..thanks for the info.