Why is it that facts about hummingbirds inspire us to wonder?
All the facts about the hummingbird are unique and makes them special among birds:
Small size - The hummingbird species has the renown honor of including the "Bee Hummingbird" of Cuba, the smallest bird in the world. Gorgeous plumage - The male "Ruby-Throated Hummingbird" was named because of the iridescent feathers on it's neck which reflect sunlight and gives the appearance of glistening rubies. Enormous metabolism - On an average day a hummingbird consumes half of it's weight in sugar. Natural co-existence - An ability to pollinate flowers which remarkably have co-evolved with them.
Migration: The "Rufous Hummingbird" has the longest migration route, flying as much as 3000 miles from Alaska to Mexico. The "Ruby-Throated Hummingbird" also has a very long migration route which includes the incredible task of flying 500 miles non stop across the Gulf of Mexico!
Species: Hummingbirds have the second largest number of species of any bird in the world.
These facts about hummingbirds, have historically intrigued humans for centuries past and continue to intrigue to the present day. As we continue to learn about the hummingbirds through ornithological studies, banding, and greater correspondence among enthusiasts, our knowledge and marvel about these birds should increase.
HUMMINGBIRD SOUNDS
What sounds do Hummingbirds make? Everyone enjoys bird songs but hummingbird sounds are not as melodious as other birds. The voice box or scrinz, pronounced (sir‘ingks) is extremly small and not capable of complex vocalizations. If you listen while your hummingbirds are zipping from flower to flower, you’ll hear them make a single note, called the chip note, sounding like a series of fast chirps. Amusingly, some hummingbird sounds sometimes can be a poke for us to fill an empty feeder. Hummingbirds can create sounds that are both vocal and non-vocal. Vocal sounds are made with the voice box but the non-vocal aerodynamic sounds are made with their wing and tail feathers. Sometimes male hummers fight for territory by dualing with their beaks and creating the clicking sound you may have heard. Yes, it is true that the super fast beating of a hummingbird's wings (60 beats per second) does create the humming sound giving this bird its name!
TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF A HUMMINGBIRD GO TO - >
http://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-sounds.html
A Common Myth About Hummingbirds: It is generally believed that all hummingbirds make the same high pitched sounds referred to as "squeaks" or "twitters." Actually, there is a great deal of variation in sounds among species except those that are closely related. You can identify species of hummingbirds by their sounds. For example, an adult male Red-billed Streamertail has an elongated tail and produce a "whirring sound" during flight. The male Broad-tailed hummingbird produces a "shrill wing whistle." Anna’s hummingbirds are famous for their "very loud chirp" made with a vibrating tail during courtship displays.
Listening to the vocalizations of hummingbirds gives us an even greater insight into the world of these fascinating creatures. Are they hungry, scuffling with each other over territory, fighting off other types of birds who might have an interest in their nectar feeders, or communicating with a possible mate? What species of hummingbird do we hear? It is fun to listen and attempt to understand how hummingbird sounds communicate in their natural world and sometimes the poke they give us.
REPRODUCTION
Hummingbird Mating: There are many astonishing facts about hummingbird mating. In the Eastern United States and Canada mating of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird begins in early spring upon return from their remarkable migration from Mexico and Central America. In the western United States other species such as the Anna’s Hummingbird start to mate in late December and early January.
A GREAT PERFORMANCE
It is the female who chooses her mate in all species. Male hummingbirds are aggressive in attracting females. They duel beak to beak in mid air. What female can resist the stunningly handsome male hummingbird with his beautiful iridescent feathers and dashing gorget? The mating dive is an astonishing showy flight with many loops and zigzags.
Usually the male flies up to an unbelievable 150 feet in the air and then plummets straight down pulling up just before impact. The courtship dive of the Anna’s Hummingbird is the most spectacular of all. This bird falls comparably faster than a jet fighter at full throttle or even the Space Shuttle entering the atmosphere! Despite this showy performance, the male hummingbird does not mate for life. He does not help the female in any way to build her nest or care for her chicks. He simply waits to mate with the next females that enter his territory.
MUSIC TO HER EARS
Hummingbirds make many sounds during courtship. These chirps and whistles are very enticing to the female bird. An interesting fact about the Anna’s Hummingbird is that research has proven that some of the mating vocals are not vocal at all. Instead, the loud sounds are actually created by the bird’s tail feathers. This is a fascinating adaptation due to the bird’s tiny vocal cords. Overall, there are some differences and similarities among species in regard to hummingbird mating. We have only attempted to highlight several here.
NESTING
The Hummingbird Nest: Many people are curious about hummingbird nests. Most of us are awe inspired at the very thought of how tiny these nests must be. What do they look like?
What are they made of? Where are they? Few people have actually ever seen a hummingbird nest. Once again, we are talking about the amazing hummingbird. So nothing can ever be dull! There are several similarities and some differences between the species in regard to nests. The nests are not always the same size. Some species of hummingbirds build nests that are only about half the size of a walnut shell. Other larger species build them proportionately bigger. Most are built from 10 feet to an incredible 90 feet high in shrubs and trees. Hummingbird nests are built with soft plant fibers and leaves. Most hummingbirds use spider silk as threads to bind their nest together. How cute is that?
Usually they are tiny cup shapes with cozy spongy bottoms for the comfort of the babies. (Yes, they are good mommies). It is interesting that certain species return to the same nest in successive years to rebuild. (What a memory!) So the nest ends up with a layered appearance at the base. It is fascinating that they have elastic sides that stretch as the babies grow. Did you know that we humans can help the hummingbirds with nest building?
We can plant trees and shrubs to provide the shelter they need. Especially helpful would be trees and shrubs with soft fibers such as Pussy Willows, American Elm, Poplar, Cottonwood, and Mulberry. Grow flowers and vines with soft foliage. Clematis and honeysuckle are very good examples. It's probably not practical for the average hummingbird fan to stock spider webs and lichens in their yard. But there is a man-made alternative! "Hummer Helper" is the first commercially available product that has proven appealing to hummingbirds. The all-natural material (specially processed with oil left in) is contained in a wire frame painted red to attract a hummingbird's eye. It has the potential to help bring in more hummers, close by where you can observe them, and to increase the odds that they will nest near you. With the diminishing habitat for hummingbirds today.
We can do our part to help the hummingbird survive. Let’s not let the hummingbird be added to our ever-growing endangered species.
BABIES - FLEDGLINGS
The Baby Hummingbird: A baby hummingbird is truly a wonder of nature. They begin life as the smallest eggs in the world. Weighing approximately 0.62 grams these white non-glossy eggs are less than ½ inch long. Their small size is often compared to a jelly bean.
The mother hummingbird usually lays only two eggs. Occasionally, there may be only one.
Two is probably the best number of eggs for one hummingbird to care for. She incubates the eggs for about 2 weeks... longer in colder climates. This is a relatively long time for a bird incubation. When baby hummingbirds are still in their eggs, they have strong neck muscles and a hook on their short bill in order to peck their way out. Hummingbird babies are born blind and naked without feathers. At first, the hummingbird mother will keep her babies warm by sitting on the nest. Have you ever watched any baby birds feed? Did you know that many chicks including hummingbirds can feel the wind from the wing of their mother as she approaches the nest. So although, they are born blind, this is how they know to lift up their tiny heads and open their hungry mouths. The newborns cannot feed on their own. The mother inserts her beak into the throats of her babies dropping the regurgitated insects and nectar. Since these babies grow quickly (doubling in size everyday during those first days), she can soon leave the nest more frequently in order to catch insects and gather nectar to feed them. As the chicks get older the mother spends extended periods away from the nest. After they grow, she begins to give the chicks independence. In about a week or so the growing chicks will be covered with fuzzy new feathers. Even so, it takes at least 9 days before they can regulate their own body heat. After about two weeks, they start to look more like small adult hummingbirds. By then, they have grown real feathers and their beaks (depending on the species) are often longer. After three weeks, the young birds are ready to leave the nest forever. Sometimes, she watches them from a nearby branch. If you are fortunate to see this, there is no need for any rescue. Instead you can enjoy hosting your young hummingbird family. Once they fly away, they won’t return to the nest again. For a few more days, hummingbird mothers continue nurturing their young. They remain close, leading them to the best food sources.
I (original author of web page article) actually had the privilege of seeing this:
One day as I was looking out at the hummingbird feeder on my back porch, I saw a female come close as if to sip nectar. However, she only hovered nearby signaling her baby hummingbird to the feeder. After the baby had it's fill, the older hummingbird took her turn. We hope that as you learn about the habits of hummingbirds, you will begin to notice a variety of behaviors to enhance your enjoyment even more.
FLIGHT
Hummingbird Flight: Watching a hummingbird flight, zooming around our feeders, flower gardens, decks, and patios is to witness a flash of iridescent beauty and resulting joy.
Copyright ©2010 Luv2bird Jill Rucker
Nature’s Flying Machine
Hummingbird’s never walk or hop around like other birds. Their feet are designed only to perch. Even a mother hummingbird cannot stand to care for her young. Instead she will just lift up and down from her nest like a helicopter.
Wing and Tail Structure
In contrast to most other birds, which have movable joints that bend and fold in the middle, those of the hummingbird are rigid. It does not flap its wings. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint. This allows the hummingbird to rotate its wings at its shoulders in all directions. With this anatomy and strong wings, which account for 30% of its body weight, the hummingbird has extraordinary maneuverability. We enjoy watching this bird fly forward, backwards, sideways, and upside down. The tail is short to act as a brake for stops in mid air. What a spectacle it is to see the "hummingbird flight!" Tiny Acrobatic Wonder - Unlike other birds, the hummingbird doesn’t fly flat. They sweep their wings backwards and forward pushing the air downwards instead of backwards. This allows them to fly upright. We can only smile, as they seem to face us. Hummingbirds can change direction quickly by twisting 90 degrees to enable the air to continually push downward.
Flying at a speed of 30 mph, they beat their wings 80 beats per second. During a courtship dive, some species beat their wings an incredible 200 times per second while flying at a speed of up to 60 mph. When hovering, a hummingbird's wings move forward and then the top edge rotates moving back again creating a figure eight. These tiny creatures can accelerate extraordinarily fast from a perch. The birds bathe in misters and dew drops while flying. Since the migration route of some species is extremely long, hummingbirds are capable of enduring long distance flight. The Rufous hummingbird flies 3000 miles from Alaska to Mexico. Within the long flight of the Ruby-throated hummingbird is a famous feat; they fly 500 miles non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico. To sum it up, a hummingbirds flight is aerobatic, fast, and enduring. If any among us has dreamt of flight, wouldn’t we choose to dream of the flight of the hummingbird?
SOURCE OF ARTICLE: http://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-sounds.htm
PHOTOS DEPICTED HERE: Copyright© 2010 Luv2bird Jill Rucker. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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