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Hummingbirds
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Hummingbird

Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
#redirect
#redirect : Animalia
#redirect : Chordata
#redirect : Aves
#redirect : Trochiliformes
#redirect : Trochilidae
Genera
Many: see text

Table of contents
1 Introduction
2 Taxonomy
3 See also
4 External link

Introduction

Hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings (15 to 80 beats per second, depending on the size of the bird). They are the only birds that can fly backwards.

They are named for the characteristic hum of this rapid wing motion, and are attracted to many flowering plants such as shrimp plants. Hummingbirds feed on the nectar of these plants. They are important pollinators, especially of deep throated flowers.

They are especially attracted to red flowers: hummingbirds can be attracted by feeders stocked with sugar water. Many species will also take insects.

Their attraction to the color red creates a problem for some hummingbirds: many of them fly into garages and become trapped. It is widely believed that this is because they mistake the hanging (usually red-colored) door release handle for a flower. Once inside, they may be unable to escape because their natural instinct when threatened or trapped is to fly upward. This is a life-threatening situation for hummingbirds, as they can become exhausted and die in a relatively short period of time, possibly as little as an hour.

Male hummingbirds are usually brightly coloured, females duller. The males take no part in nesting. The nest is usually a neat cup in a tree. Two white eggs are laid, which are large compared to the bird. Incubation is typically 14-19 days.

The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is, at 1.8 grams, the smallest bird in the world. A typical North American hummingbird, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) weighs approximately 3 grams, length 7.6 cm (3 in).

Location

Hummingbirds are only found in the Americas. The Black-chinned Hummingbird is the most common species in the western United States and Canada. Only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird breeds in eastern North America, but occasional members of other hummingbird species ("accidentals" in birding jargon) are seen in the east of North America, sometimes as vagrants from Cuba or the Bahamas.

There is an increasing trend for Rufous Hummingbirds to migrate east to winter in the eastern United States, rather than south to Central America; this trend being the result of increased survival with the provision of artificial feeders in gardens – in the past, individuals that migrated east would usually die, but now they survive, and their tendency to migrate east is inherited by their offspring. Provided sufficient food and shelter is available, they are surprisingly hardy, able to tolerate temperatures down to at least -20°C.

In Artistic Depiction

The Aztec god Huitzilopochtli is often depicted as a hummingbird.

Taxonomy

Traditionally hummingbirds were placed in the order Apodiformes, which also contains the swifts. In the modern Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, hummingbirds are separated as a new hummingbird order Trochiliformes.

There are between 325-340 species of hummingbird, depending on taxonomic viewpoint, divided into two subfamilies, the hermits (subfamily Phaethornithinae, 34 species in six genera), and the typical hummingbirds (subfamily Trochilinae, all the others).

Hummingbirds have been thought to have evolved in South America, and the great majority of the species are found there. All the most familiar North American species are thought to be of relatively recent origin, and are therefore (following the usual procedure of lists starting with more 'ancestral' species and ending with the most recent) listed close to the end of the list.

Genetic analysis has indicated that hummingbirds diverged from other birds 30 to 40 million years ago, but fossil evidence has proved elusive. Fossil hummingbirds have been found as old as a million years, but older fossils had not been securely identifiable as hummingbirds. Then, in 2004, Dr. Gerald Mayr of the Senkenberg natural history museum in Frankfurt-am-Main identified two 30-million-year old German hummingbird fossils and published his results in Nature. The fossils of the extinct hummingbird species, Eurotrochilus inexpectatus ("unexpected European hummingbird") had been sitting in a museum drawer in Stuttgart. They had been unearthed in a claypit in Frauenweiler.

Subfamily Phaethornithinae

  • Saw-billed Hermit, Ramphodon naevius

  • White-tipped Sicklebill, Eutoxeres aquila
  • Buff-tailed Sicklebill, Eutoxeres condamini

  • Hook-billed Hermit, Glaucis dohrnii
  • Rufous-breasted Hermit, Glaucis hirsuta
  • Bronzy Hermit, Glaucis aenea

  • Band-tailed Barbthroat, Threnetes ruckeri
  • Pale-tailed Barbthroat, Threnetes niger

  • Broad-tipped Hermit, Anopetia gounellei

  • White-whiskered Hermit, Phaethornis yaruqui
  • Green Hermit, Phaethornis guy
  • White-bearded Hermit, Phaethornis hispidus
  • Western Long-tailed Hermit, Phaethornis longirostris
  • Eastern Long-tailed Hermit, Phaethornis superciliosus
  • Great-billed Hermit, Phaethornis malaris
  • Tawny-bellied Hermit, Phaethornis syrmatophorus
  • Koepcke's Hermit, Phaethornis koepckeae
  • Needle-billed Hermit, Phaethornis philippii
  • Straight-billed Hermit, Phaethornis bourcieri
  • Pale-bellied Hermit, Phaethornis anthophilus
  • Scale-throated Hermit, Phaethornis eurynome
  • Planalto Hermit, Phaethornis pretrei
  • Sooty-capped Hermit, Phaethornis augusti
  • Buff-bellied Hermit, Phaethornis subochraceus
  • Dusky-throated Hermit, Phaethornis squalidus
  • Streak-throated Hermit, Phaethornis rupurumii
  • Little Hermit, Phaethornis longuemareus
  • Minute Hermit, Phaethornis idaliae
  • Cinnamon-throated Hermit, Phaethornis nattereri
  • Reddish Hermit, Phaethornis ruber
  • White-browed Hermit, Phaethornis stuarti
  • Black-throated Hermit, Phaethornis atrimentalis
  • Stripe-throated Hermit, Phaethornis striigularis
  • Gray-chinned Hermit, Phaethornis griseogularis

Subfamily Trochilinae

See also

Hummingbird hawk moth

External link

For the Australian jangle pop band, see The Hummingbirds.


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Hummingbirds
Comprehensive site for North American hummingbirds, with photo album, migration maps, attracting and feeding tips, species accounts, and articles.
http://www.hummingbirds.net/

Costa's Hummingbird Nests
Notes and photos of Costa's Hummingbirds nesting in a patio lamp in Ridgecrest, California.
http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~hallowel/hummers/

Hank Hogan's Hummingbird Photos
Close-up photographs and notes.
http://flzhgn.home.mindspring.com/hek2.htm

William Zittrich's Hummingbird Photographs
Amazing images of southern California hummingbirds.
http://www.geocities.com/wyllz/id299.htm

Hummingbird Cards
Send a hummingbird postcard to a friend or family member. Card designs include photographs and watercolor paintings.
http://www.geckodance.com/crossstitch/hummingbirdcards.html

Zack Sessions's Hummingbird Photos
Close-up photos of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at feeders.
http://home.att.net/~zsessions/hummers.html

Jerry Blinn's Hummingbird Photos
High-quality images of a Rufous Hummingbird.
http://www.avisys.net/jerrys2.htm

Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project
Projects that can teach you, students, and teachers more about hummingbirds. Many photos and information about hummingbird banding and landscaping.
http://www.rubythroat.org

Hummingbird WebSite - Photo Gallery
Photographs by a large collection of artists and links.
http://hummingbirdwebsite.com/gallery/

Chloe's Hummingbird Page
General information, sounds, and photos of hummingbirds in the western United States.
http://www.mschloe.com/hummer/hummers.htm

The Hummingbird Diaries
A pictorial history documenting the daily growth of two nestlings.
http://www.geocities.com/breachedwail

Hummingbird Flower Feeding Survey
Survey of hummingbird-worthy flowers based on personal experience.
http://home.att.net/~timothyjb/hummerflowersurvey/

The Hummingbird Society
Nonprofit group based in Delaware for hummingbird fans. Photo gallery, FAQ, electronic greeting cards, catalog, wallpaper images, and links.
http://www.hummingbird.org/

Humabout Hummingbird Photography
Close-up photographs of hummingbirds, including nests and babies; hummingbird poetry, art, articles, and screen saver.
http://www.humabout.net/

Hummingbird Photographs
Photographs of four southwestern US species by William Zittrich.
http://www.geocities.com/wyllz/id5.htm

Hummingbird Watching in Southeastern Arizona
The hummingbirds of Arizona, hummingbird banding, frequently asked questions, hummingbird tours and workshops, and photographs.
http://www.sabo.org/hummers.htm

Dan True's Hummingbird Photos
Photos from the book "Hummingbirds of North America" and Hummingbird House kit.
http://www.3lefties.com/dantrue/

Journey North: UnPave the Way for Hummingbirds
Tips for creating hummingbird habitat.
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/unpave/hummer.html

R. W. Scott's Birds in Flight
Images of hummingbirds and other birds captured with high speed flash photography.
http://www.gregscott.com/rwscott/rwscott.htm

Enjoyable Hummingbirds
Close-up hummingbird photos by Russ Thompson of Louisville, Kentucky.
http://www.homestead.com/rthompson8/hummers.html


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