Life of the Hummingbird

It is FALSELY believed that their bill is a tiny straw used to suck the nectar.  If you believed this you were wrong.  Actually Hummingbirds have a hairy tongue that helps them to lap nectar approximately 13 times per second.  Yep that's fast!  Several of the hummer breeds consume as much as 3 times their body weight, especially just before taking off for migration in order to store up energy.

Most species of hummingbirds are seasonal migrants between the US/Canada and Mexico often they migrate about 6000 miles and they need to cross the Gulf of Mexico – with no food until they land - this is a life challenge. They return to the same breeding grounds yearly.  They must go on an eating binge just before making their migration in order to have the energy to sustain the flight. In recent years some migration patterns have changed and now some hummers go to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area rather than going all the way across the Golf Coast.

There are some breads that do not migrate (or at least not far) and they include the Anna's Hummingbird and the Costa's that stay near the same habitat of Southern California and Arizona.

There was a period of time when Hummingbird feathers were much sought after because of the iridescent plumage, especially the wing and breast feathers, for decorating fashionable hats.

This one can feed 8 birds at once. Things to be mindful of when you start using a hummingbird feeder.  Please watch for black spots which means there is fungus in the sugar water - this is deadly.  Be sure to clean the feeder and change the sugar every 3 days or so.  Yes, this is high maintenance.  If you are going out of town - take the feeder down temporarily to avoid any fungus issues - which do more harm that good.

Well if you can judge by the size of their head - they are pretty smart.  Hummingbirds have the largest heads in relation to their bodies of all birds on the planet.

Another interesting fact is that even though a diving falcon does reach a higher speed in miles per hour, if we go by body length per second then the hummingbirds dive is practically twice as fast at the peregrine.

There is a very special species of hummer called the Spatule Tail from Peru that faces extinction due to habitat loss.  It is pretty spectacular to watch the Spatule tail twirt its tail to display and attract a mate. They have recently created the Spatule Tail Reserve Bird Sanctuary where they have planted 17,000 trees in an attempt to save this species of hummingbird.

Terry Masear calls one to three day old hummingbirds Naked Babies. These birds usually arrive at rehab in their original nests.  At each stage of development the care is modified and becomes less and less restrictive until the bird is able to be released back to the wild.  Naked babies are so small they must be fed using magnification.  (The shells are approximately the size of a jellybean so you can imagine how tine the bird inside is.)  They are also naked and cannot generate their own body heat so they require a heated ICU.  They must be fed every 30 minutes starting at 5:30 a.m. and many Nakes Babies do not survive.  Once they survive from 4 to 7 days they are renamed dinofuzz they now exhibit some down on their bodies.  Tree and bush trimming are usually the reason for the arrival on dinofuzz babies info rehab.  Next they morph into bobble-heads when they start to grow rapidly day to day.  Their eyes are only slits at the bobble-head stage.  Feeding a bobble-head takes precision and practice.

Next comes the pinfeathered stage from between 10-15 days old.  Their eyes are now opened.  Their feathers are in white rows.  After a few days these feathers become technicolor.  These tiny birds scratch their heads like mad with their feet – it must itch and it helps the feathers emerge.  Now they turn into the feather-duster stage when they can hold their heads still to eat (making it much easier).

Once they are about 3 weeks old and their feathers have completely unfurled they are called pre-fledglings and they actually look like hummingbirds except the breast-bone and belly get feathers last.  They begin to crawl around and pile up on the other nestlings.  They can also now perch on the side of the cup or nest and exercise their wings by spinning them.  Usually between 24 and 28 days old they lift off and they then get moved to a starter cage.  Of course birds can arrive injured at any stage of development.  The starter cage has 2 sets of dowels at 2” and 8”.  They can start out moving low on the 2” dowels and progress at their own speed.  They now learn to self-feed (hurrah!) though they can still be high maintenance.  About 10 percent of these fledglings will refuse to feed themselves and the rehabber must do it for them.  They are now with one or two cage mates.  Sometimes rearranging is required until the perfect cage mate is found.  The skills that must be mastered now include perching, flying frontward and backward, spinning in the air and self-feeding which keeps them busy.

The fledglings must be able to sleep through 7 successive nights without falling off the perch they will be promoted to a large flight cage. If you find a hummingbird DO NOT WRAP THEM IN TOWELS.  The reason is that many rescuers try to wrap them in towels and the baby birds get their toe nails or claws caught in the loops of the towel and often get pulled off.  This can disable the bird and is very painful! A large flight cage is 2 tall by 3 feet long and wrapped in chicken wire so the young birds can see out.  More birds can be added to the cage now.  They are fed with fresh flower blooms and stinky bananas which are great at providing fruit flies for protein.  A bathtub is also provided now.

Have you ever heard a hummingbird bombard past your ear? Question explained.  Their wings beat so fast that it makes a distinct humming sound when they fly.

The smallest Hummingbird is called the Bee Hummingbird and it resides in Cuba.  Now that Cuba is open to American travelers, you might want to try to see one of these!