We have one feeder in the front and one in the back. Each feeder is "owned" by a very territorial little dude who sits in a nearby tree and waits for someone to try to drink from his fountain. If anyone dares, he swoops in and shoos them away.
Here is the front porch resident.
Can you see his tiny self there? He sits in that pecan tree when he's not feeding and waits. I copied a few of these hummingbird facts from World of Hummingbirds. This is only a sampling of my favorites. There are many more. Go read them all.
- Hummingbirds can see ultraviolet light.
- Hummingbirds have no sense of smell.
- A hummingbird will use its tongue to lap up nectar from flowers and feeders.
- A hummingbird's tongue is grooved like the shape of a "W".
- Hummingbirds have tiny hairs on the tip of the tongue to help lap up nectar.
- Hummingbirds do not drink though their beaks like a straw. They lap up nectar with their tongues.
- Hummingbirds have very weak feet and can barely walk. They prefer to fly.
- Hummingbirds like to perch.
- A hummingbird can weigh anywhere between 2 and 20 grams.
- A penny weighs 2.5 grams
- A hummingbird baby is about the size of a penny.
- Females will lay a clutch of two eggs.
- Hummingbirds can live for more than 10 years.
- Male hummingbirds are very aggressive and will chase another male hummingbird out of its territory.
- A hummingbird wings will beat about 70 times per second.
- Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly both forward and backwards.
- Hummingbirds can also hover in mid-air, fly sideways and even upside-down.
- A hummingbird's wings will rotate in a full circle.
- Hummingbirds need to eat on average 7 times per hour for about 30-60 seconds.
- A hummingbird will visit an average of 1,000 flowers per day for nectar.
- Hummingbirds eat small soft bugs for protein.
- Hummingbirds pollinate flowers by rubbing their forehead and face in each flower as they get the nectar.
- Many plants depend on hummingbirds for pollination.
2 comments:
Wow intersting info about the hummers. We have them-and like you one tries to rule the feeder-we call him the redneck hummingbird.
Another very interesting thing about Hummers is they are exclusively of the Western Hemisphere. None are native to the Old World.
I was very surprised that these little furnaces with feathers would live as long as ten years! You'd think they'd burn themselves out long before that. I love to watch them and to try to photograph them. (emphasis on TRY)
Lee
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