Page 66 - 2007 DT 12 Issues

Hummers amongst other things, insects. are readily available from chain stores
If our little friend spends most of and garden centers. Some feeders have
its day feeding its energy needs and no perch, while others do. Our friend
by H. Dan Wray
keeping up its body temperature, what will perch if there is something to rest
happens at night? Obviously it needs on, but a perch will attract other small
hat have a large armored
vehicle and a tiny bird to rest some time, so it finds a suitable birds which, being heavier, will over-
Win common? Not much, perching place and goes into a state balance the feeder and spill the nectar
except that they both need frequent called torpor, which is akin to hiberna- liquid within it.
re-fuelling and have the same name. tion, but not so deep and complete. What food should we put in the
But when it comes to acceleration our When it comes to mating, the male feeder? There are several proprietary
tiny bird leaves the other standing. chooses the territory, but it is the fe- foods on the market which are added
The humming bird has attracted male who creates the nest. The male to water to produce a red liquid. These
man’s attention for thousands of years performs a pendulum-like courtship can be quite expensive. Save your
and features in many of his religious dance in mid-air, swinging from side money. Make up a feed of one-quarter
ceremonies and in his myths. It has to side in front of the female. cup of sugar to a cup of water. From
no downy feathers and, whereas ordi- The nest is one of nature’s
nary birds have attractive colors, the wonders. It is tiny and, be-
absence of downy feathers makes the ing tiny, is made of the tiniest
humming bird’s seem more vibrant pieces of material, but it is the
and metallic. Its flight movements are lining which is fascinating. The
the most flexible of any bird. It can fly mother-to-be wants her chicks
forwards, backwards, sideways and to be cosy and chooses the soft-
can hover. est and finest materials she can
To manage all these maneuvers get, often using spiders’ webs.
it has to have strength. The mass of Once the nest is ready, one
its chest muscles is the largest of any egg is laid, followed by another
bird relative to its size. These muscles a day later. The egg is large
provide the power which enables the compared with the size of the hummingbird nest with two chicks
wings to beat at the incredible speed bird, but is no larger than a jel-
which creates the “hum” we hear. To lybean. Incubation is usually 15
feed the muscles, the humming bird to 17 days during which mom needs to personal experience, the plain liquid
needs a copious supply of oxygen. leave the nest frequently to feed, but seems to attract far more birds than
The size of the heart, which pumps nevertheless spends something in the the red. Additionally some authorities
the blood, is massive and accounts for region of 80% of her time on the nest. suspect that the red dye may be detri-
Going into torpor would incur the risk mental to the birds.
2.4% of the bird’s weight. It can beat of the eggs cooling, so mom doesn’t
Hang up the feeder and sit back
at up to 1,260 beats per minute. go into torpor during the incubation and enjoy the view. Do you want a
All this is very energy consum- period. closer view? Just stand quiet and still
ing and our little bird needs to feed It is a common belief that the hum- close to the feeder. Our friends are
frequently to replenish it. In an aver- ming bird feeds only from red flowers, quite tame and love to show you their
age day, it takes in about half its body but that is not so. Even casual observa- lovely colors while they are feeding.
weight in food and eight times its body tion will reveal it visiting flowers of You will have fun trying to identify the
weight in water. The popular idea is other colors. birds which come to visit. Has that one
that the humming bird lives solely on What can we do to attract these a black chin or a metallic red chin and
nectar. This is not so. It also needs a beautiful creatures to our yards? The throat? That one has a purple head and
supply of protein, which it gets from, first thing to do is buy a feeder. These that one a speckled red throat. What

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