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| Photo:
Aimee Johnson |
Peat
W. Hammond |
What's the Story?
The first
female rubythroat (sitting on a thumb) has a white stripe on the top
of her head. The rubythroat hovering at a flower only has white at the
tip of her tail.
Read what
hummingbird banders Rachel Powless and Carl Pascoe have to say:
"Hummingbird banding has begun! Woo-hoo. This little lady was quite amazing. Carl banded her and painted her head with non-toxic paint for a study we're conducting. Next, rather than rocket off of Carl's hand, she decided to hop up on his thumb and sit. She was quite relaxed. Carl decided to turn her around to pose her for better photos, and she was most obliging. This is something we have never experienced! "Thumbalina" stayed a good 60 seconds on Carl's thumb. This is an eternity for a hummingbird."
P.S. The paint will wear off once the hummingbirds begin to molt their current feathers in August in order to grow in their migration feathers.
Learn more about banding and marking hummingbirds!