Wild Birds
And Gardens
5339 Sunrise Blvd.
Fair Oaks, Ca 95628
(916) 966-5958
Bringing Life to Your Garden
Humming Bird Information
Hummingbird Basics A
hummingbird is an extraordinary bird clad in glittering iridescent feathers.
The hummingbird family, Trochilidae, occurs only in the Western
Hemisphere, where it is second only to the flycatchers in numbers of
species. The 328 hummingbird species presently recognized are considerably
more diverse in size, color pattern, and lifestyle than are the 20-plus
hummer species recorded in North America north of Mexico.
Ornithologists
who study the evolution of birds believe that hummingbirds originated in the
northern Andes Mountains of South America, where their ancestors were
insect-eating swift like birds. One or more hummingbird species can be
found in nearly every habitat in the New World, except for the polar regions
and mountains with permanent ice cover. Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru all
boast of being home to more than 100 species. This number decreases as one
goes north or south from the equator. Costa Rica has recorded about 50
species. Sixteen species are known to have bred in the United States, though
a couple of those probably do not nest within U.S. borders every year.
An Incredible Metabolism
A hummingbird's body has been modified in extraordinary ways to process
energy at such high rates. A short gut
Trills, Squeaks & Chatter
Hummingbirds are named for the sounds of their flight, and
hummers use those sounds to communicate. Male broad-tailed
hummingbirds produce an insistent trill with narrowed
wing-tip feathers, and similarly modified outer tail-feathers
make the loud squeak in the male Anna's dive. Hummingbirds
also have a vocal repertory of chips, chatters and buzzes by
which they signal their positions, declare their moods and
threaten intruders. Most North American hummers are not
notably operatic, but some, the male Anna's in particular,
sing loud and fairly complicated songs to announce their
territories and attract mates.
allows a hummer to digest a meal and eliminate its wastes in less than a
half-hour. To take in the oxygen it needs to burn its food, even a resting
hummingbird may take three hundred breaths per minute, and an excited hummer
may breath twice that fast. To supply oxygen and food rapidly enough to its
tissues, a hummingbird's unusually large heart may beat 500 to more then
1200 times per minute, pumping out blood that is extremely rich in oxygen-carrying
red blood cells.
Ready For Take-Off
Flight is one of the most energy-intensive activities in the life of a
hummingbird, and hummingbirds are fliers par excellence. Hummers have
tiny feet, well suited for perching, but for very little else, so it's not
surprising that they do not ordinarily walk or hop like other birds.
Instead, hummingbirds travel almost exclusively by air. They feed, fight,
and display to each other on the wing. Even to turn around on a branch, a
hummer is likely to start its wings, let go, and pirouette in the air.
Powering Down
Being a hummingbird is like driving a car with a one-gallon gas tank: there
is an almost constant need to refuel. Hummingbirds are often perilously
close to the limits of their energy reserves. On cold nights, when the costs
of keeping warm are especially high, it may be too risky for a hummingbird
even to keep its engine idling.
At such times, a hummingbird bristles its feathers to let its body heat
escape, and its temperature quickly approaches that of its surroundings. Its
heart rate drops dramatically, and it may stop breathing for minutes at a
time. It appears lifeless, clinging motionlessly to its branch with its head
drawn close to its body and its bill pointing sharply upward. At daybreak it
revs its metabolic engines and warms itself again.
This sort of temporary hibernation is called torpor. Hummingbirds
become torpid not only to deal with fuel crises, but also to save energy for
migration. and since birds lose moisture with every breath, becoming torpid
also helps desert hummingbirds conserve water.
Birds of a Different Feather
Hummingbirds may seem like antisocial beings, but they are skilled
communicators. Creatures of open, sunny
a close-up of a
hummingbird's throat feathers
habitats, North American hummers live in a highly-visual world and exploit
it to the fullest with their colorful displays. Surprisingly, the only
pigments in their feathers are shades of black, brown and reddish brown.
Their jewel like colors result from the same optical phenomenon that creates
the pale pastels of an oil film on water, but in hummingbird feathers it has
been refined to reflect colors of startling purity. The greenish sheen of a
hummingbird's back is an example of such iridescence, as are the intense
reds or violets of the throat patch, or gorget. Gorget colors show
best when the sun is behind the viewer, and diving hummingbirds stage their
performances to show them off to maximum effect.
Mating and Raising Young
In most hummer species, the female initiates nest construction, then seeks a
mate from among nearby territorial males. She gathers materials -- plant
down, grasses, bits of lichen -- from the surrounding area. Spider webbing
or sticky silk from cocoons lashes the structure to the chosen site and
binds the other materials together. The nest must be warm and durable to
protect the hatchlings.
No pair bond is formed beyond the act of copulation. Incubation and care
of the young are done exclusively by the female while the male continues to
court as many consorts as possible.
Every species of North
American hummingbird lays two eggs in a cup-shaped nest.
After mating, the female concentrates her efforts on the eggs and young.
Each egg is about the size of a navy bean, and two eggs are a complete
clutch. Usually there is a two-day interval between the laying of the first
egg and the second. Occasionally nests are found to contain three eggs, but
these are thought to be the work of two females. This may happen if a nest
is destroyed after its owner has mated, forcing the "homeless" female to
dump one of her eggs into a neighbor's nest.
Incubation begins when the second egg is laid.
The
young hatch naked, blind, and helpless after a 12 to 15-day period which the
female leaves only to eat. At first, the hatchlings are brooded frequently
and fed a diet of nectar, minute insects, and spiders. Protein accounts for
about nine percent of the nestling's food, three times the amount required
by adult hummers.
Nourished with high-protein foods and tender maternal care, the young
birds grow rapidly and are ready to leave the nest in a little more than
three weeks. At that point they are fully feathered and almost the same size
as the adults. The female continues to feed the newly fledged youngsters for
a week or so, but after that they are considered competitors and are chased
out of the natal territory.
Young hummers of both sexes resemble the female. In a few species, such
as broad-billed, magnificent, and blue-throated, characteristic male plumage
emerges with the first full set of feathers. For most other species the
fledglings migrate to their wintering grounds, and remain in their plain
immature feathers until early spring. The molt into adult plumage is
accomplished while the birds are in Mexico and Central America, prior to
northward migration in spring.
A note about Orioles
According to the Hummingbird Book by Donald and
Lillian Stokes, "orioles will accept a more diluted
water concentration than hummingbirds -- a 1 - 6 ratio
of sugar to water. Prepare the solution and clean
feeders as you would for hummingbirds."
Add
one part sugar to four parts hot water (boiled water
optional). Store surplus in refrigerator.
Never use honey, artificial sweeteners, or food coloring in the
nectar. The red or yellow flowers on the feeders are enough to
attract the hummingbirds. Studies have shown that the red dye needs to
be processed out by the birds and honey can actually be harmful to them,
while the sugar water recipe most closely resembles the natural nectar
found in flowers.
Nectar ferments rapidly. Clean and refill daily when
temperatures are over 100 degrees; at least twice weekly during cooler
weather. Avoid placing your feeder in the afternoon sun side of your
house.
Migration
Remember that we have Anna's Hummingbirds all year in this area, and
the others will migrate regardless of food availability. Leave your feeder up
and enjoy your birds all year 'round!
Ants/Wasps Ants
can be controlled by adding an Ant Trap®
(available in clear, red or green). Wasps will stay clear of your feeder when you
coat the outside with Deet Free Sports Blocker Insect Repellent or Avon's
Skin-So-Soft bath oil. Be careful to avoid the feeding ports.
Flowers attractive to hummingbirds include:
Fuchsia
Cardinal flower
Nasturtium
Red-Hot poker
Honeysuckle
Columbine
Foxglove
Bee Balm
Lupine
Geranium
Impatient
Salvia
Strawberry Madrone
Silk Tree
Red Flowering Currant
Butterfly Bush
The most aggressive of
our Hummingbirds, the Rufous Hummingbird defends its small
feeding territories on its migration stops.
Wild Birds and Gardens of Sacramento is providing the following
truthful information taken directly from the American Center for Disease control in an
effort to impart accurate information to our birding community, and to help alleviate the
panic promoted by the public news agencies.
A
hummingbird is an extraordinary bird clad in glittering iridescent feathers.
The hummingbird family, Trochilidae, occurs only in the Western
Hemisphere, where it is second only to the flycatchers in numbers of
species. The 328 hummingbird species presently recognized are considerably
more diverse in size, color pattern, and lifestyle than are the 20-plus
hummer species recorded in North America north of Mexico.
Ornithologists
who study the evolution of birds believe that hummingbirds originated in the
northern Andes Mountains of South America, where their ancestors were
insect-eating swift like birds. One or more hummingbird species can be
found in nearly every habitat in the New World, except for the polar regions
and mountains with permanent ice cover. Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru all
boast of being home to more than 100 species. This number decreases as one
goes north or south from the equator. Costa Rica has recorded about 50
species. Sixteen species are known to have bred in the United States, though
a couple of those probably do not nest within U.S. borders every year.
The
young hatch naked, blind, and helpless after a 12 to 15-day period which the
female leaves only to eat. At first, the hatchlings are brooded frequently
and fed a diet of nectar, minute insects, and spiders. Protein accounts for
about nine percent of the nestling's food, three times the amount required
by adult hummers.
Add
one part sugar to four parts hot water (boiled water
optional). Store surplus in refrigerator.
Ants
can be controlled by adding an Ant Trap®
(available in clear, red or green). Wasps will stay clear of your feeder when you
coat the outside with Deet Free Sports Blocker Insect Repellent or Avon's
Skin-So-Soft bath oil. Be careful to avoid the feeding ports.
