It is time to bid farewell to probably my favorite, most fascinating, and entertaining seasonal visitor, the hummingbird. While they are feeding and residing near my home, I do my best to entice and sustain their presence for the longest possible period by providing the nectar bearing flowers and feeding stations they require to thrive. The hummingbird bird diet is not exclusively flower-juice based but also includes small insects to provide needed proteins. Typically, they are approximately 3.5 inches from beak tip to tail feather end, and adults weigh an average of 0.2 ounces. The diminutive size belies their tenacity and unbounded energy.
Found only in the Americas, these tiny birds range from the margins of Canadian artic environments to the peaks of South American mountains and even to the below sea level elevations of eastern North Carolina. There are currently 366 recognized species of hummingbirds throughout their entire distribution. The ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common member found in eastern North America. Census estimates register a population of around thirty-five million.
Because both genders are territorial, there are constant battles for protecting and establishing their food source domains. Nothing beats the activity of the hummers engaging in aggressive bumper-car aerobatics. These miniature birds harvest nectar from flowers and the nectar-feeders set up by well-meaning humans. They are renowned for their ability to remember up to thousands of food source locations from their previous migrations. Their visual acuity helps to identify food sources by the presence of an additional fourth color cone, which permits them to detect the ultraviolet spectrum. Their field of view approaches 340 degrees compared to the paltry human 200 degrees. The tongue muscles wrap around the skull, providing a stable platform for very rapid movements, enabling them to slurp nectar at a rate of up to twenty laps a second. Their wings beat 50-200 times a second and their wing structure allows them to hover with precision and even to fly backwards. The wing filament structures allow them to project the expression of iridescent colors by altering the angles at which light reflects off the feather surfaces. This coloration is not due to pigmentation but rather a prismatic light show. The characteristic sound of the namesake hum is due to the vibrational frequencies of the incredibly rapid wing oscillations and not because they do not know the words to the hummingbird songs. I am going to miss my tiny, feathered friends and eagerly anticipate their return next year.
