Hummingbird Facts

Hummingbird Color
No other bird possesses such a wide spectrum of breathtaking colors as the hummingbird. This is due to the structure of the feathers. While most birds can attribute their color to pigmentation, the hummingbird's shimmering color is structural rather than pigmented in origin. The iridescent colors of the feathers arise from layers of special cells within the top layers of the feathers. Light that hits these cells is broken apart; some wavelengths are reinforced and intensified, while others are nullified through interference. The resulting colors are amazingly vivid, but, unlike pigmented colors, can be seen only when the light is hitting the feathers at precisely the right angle. Thus, a hummingbird can shift its position just a little, and what was once black will become blazing red.

Hummingbird Predators
Hummingbirds are incredibly quick and agile, so predators have a difficult time catching them. This explains the hummingbird's legendary cockiness in the face of danger; in the North American East for example, hummingbirds are often seen mercilessly harassing (and overcoming) large hawks as they vie for territory during migration. They do have their predators, though. These include numerous other bird species (from orioles to roadrunners), but perhaps the most surprising is the praying mantis. The ability of a praying mantis to pose motionless and strike with lightning speed at an unsuspecting hummingbird presents a real risk.

Hummingbird Hovering
The simplest (but still complex) explanation goes something like this: The wings function quite like a helicopter that has two blades; these rotate in opposite directions less than 180 degrees; then they stop, reverse their pitch, and begin moving counter to the original rotation; the process is reversed again, and so on. The effect is to create only lift and no rotational movement. If it were possible for a helicopter to function this way, it wouldn't need the tail propeller. Sikorski was said to be inspired in part by the hummingbird when he invented the helicopter.

The wing muscles of a hummingbird represent a disproportionately large part of the body mass--perhaps up to one-third or so--when compared to members of other bird families. They can provide nearly equal power on both the forward and backward strokes, making the helicopter analogy pretty close.

The wings of a hummingbird are different in another way: elbow and wrist joints are fused, and only motion about the shoulder is possible: in effect, the wings are large "hands." The wing motion is powerful and controllable.

Picture a hummingbird with beak straight up and tail straight down. In this position, commonly seen when a hummer feeds at a fuchsia blossom, to remain motionless the axis about which the wings rotate must align with the roll (central) axis of the bird, resulting in pure downward thrust. The hummingbird has control of the angle between the axis of wing rotation (direction of thrust) and the body axis, permitting the thrust to be directed and cause motion in any direction; up, down, forwards, BACKWARDS (the only bird that can do this!), or to either side.

In level flight, ruby-throated hummingbirds can attain maximum speeds of 25 miles per hour or possibly more. During power dives, some species have been recorded at more than double that.

Going back to the helicopter analogy, the wings do not stay exactly in a plane when moving forward or backward. Instead they move downward slightly during the stroke, slow down, then during the reversal lift up somewhat, and begin the reverse stroke. Viewed from the side, the wingtip traces out a modest figure 8, looking a bit like the symbol for infinity.

Feeding Hummingbirds
Feeding hummingbirds does more than provide us with visual entertainment: it helps sustain their existence. The hovering mode of the hummingbird may be fascinating to watch, but to the hummingbird it is fairly inefficient, much as the helicopter is an inefficient aircraft. As such, the hummingbird must feed typically 3-5 times per hour. Feeders filled with mixtures of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water (a 1:5 mixture is a little more diluted but may help keep pesky insects like bees away from your feeder) provide valuable supplementary calories to the hummingbirds' natural diet of flower nectar, and insects and small spiders. The best color for a feeder is red, with the second best being yellow (unfortunately yellow feeders sometimes tend to attract some insects). Finally, a word of caution: never fill your feeders with anything but sugar-water mixtures. Do not use coloring of any kind, and never use honey, for it breeds a fungus that can coat the hummingbird's tongue and eventually may cause death. Keep your feeders clean and filled--then sit back and enjoy the wonderful view.