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Hummingbird Migration Update: March 28, 2002

Today's Report Includes:


Latest Migration News: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Courtesy of Lanny Chambers, Hummingbirds.net


Rufous Hummingbirds

Copyright (C) 1999 Jerry Blinn

Rufous Hummingbird

Courtesy of Mike Patterson
Neawanna Wetland Ecological Observatory


Rubythroats Making Steady Progress
Debra King's sign welcoming hummers to Meridien, Mississippi is an annual tradition

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are steadily advancing, despite some cold weather conditions. Do you think the sighting at the tip of Florida might have been a bird that flew over the Gulf of Mexico? How many new states have they appeared in since our last report?

In Meridian, Mississippi, on March 16, Debra King found a rubythroat--male, of course!--back at her feeder during a cold snap. She writes, "Freezing cold morning..had my feeders up for about three weeks. A male hummer drank and took off. It's been very cold since I saw him, but saw him again today and he made it through the 20 degree night and 32 degree night."

Thank goodness rubythroats can conserve energy on those frigid nights as you learned in our lesson on Torpor. Of course, surviving those cold nights is tricky without a reliable food source. Hummers visit sapsucker holes and many of them also depend on our feeders before flowers are in full bloom. Harlan and Altus Aschen, of Port Lavaca, Texas, always feed hummers. They report that on March 17, "The first Ruby-throated Humming bird that we could ID stopped by the backdoor at eight to nectar. It was a young male. Very little for him to find to nectar on as the big freeze on March 4th."

Thanks for the Memories...of Feeders!
Photo courtesy of Harlan and Altus Aschen.
Do hummers remember where they found feeders the previous year? Fred Dietrich from Tallahassee, Florida, reports that on March 14, "First male Ruby-throated of the spring was on my feeder. He may be one from last year, he sure seemed at home on the feeder, just like it was always his." Ruby-throated Hummingbirds live surprisingly long lives for such tiny creatures with such a long and difficult migration. One banded rubythroat was recorded surviving at least 9 years 1 month! And many of them DO return to the same feeders year after year. One birdwatcher in Duluth, Minnesota, had a hummer with an odd patch of white feathers that returned to a feeder five years in a row. This particular hummer would hover by the kitchen window peeking in whenever the feeder was empty!

And speaking of feeders, a look at today's maps will give you a good idea of whether it's time to set out your hummingbird feeder. These links will help you:

Rufous Hummingbird Excitement
Rufous Hummingbird females are catching up with the males now, and there are more sightings inland away from the coast. Think about the possible reasons, then send us your answer for:

Challenge Question #5:
"Why do you think rufous hummers move far north before they move inland?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Rufous Hummingbird. Copyright 1999, Larry and Terrie Gates

Migration may be slowing a bit, but Mike Patterson has some great stories to share!

Mike Patterson's Hummingbird Reports

  • March 18, 2002
    "More snow this weekend, though mostly just a light dusting, but we're up to 85 reports. The story of the week is the Rufous Hummingbird that accidentally got into Ms. Katie Wright's 6th grade classroom at El Sereno Middle School in Los Angeles. After unsuccessfully trying to coax it back out through the window, they had to resort to carefully catching it with a butterfly net. The students got a chance to see a hummingbird in-hand and up close before releasing it outside."
  • March 25, 2002
    "Most reports this week are from latitudes similar to those reported last week. A report from Union Bay, British Columbia, is the northernmost so far and arrived on the same day last year. Other observers in British Columbia report that arrivals to their feeders are running a bit late, even though we began the season with record-setting early arrivals. The below normal temperatures have no doubt contributed to this. Waldport, Oregon, reports at least 18 individuals coming to one yard and reports of smaller concentrations have been reported from Coos Bay and Astoria. Females are being reported at about equal frequencies as males now."

Be sure to visit Mike's website, Hummingbirds and Flowers.

Tiny Brain, Big Intelligence

All these hummers zipping north right now are setting out and navigating by virtue of a clock, a calendar, a compass, and a map all crowded inside that tiny brain of theirs. Their migration is instinctive, but hummingbirds have more intelligence than you'd think. Costa Rica ornithologist Alexander Skutch writes, "Although the brains in such diminutive animals are necessarily small, hummingbirds are no more stupid than many larger birds." Which is pretty amazing, considering that their brain is smaller than an M&M!

How do scientists measure bird intelligence? And why do you think they haven't done much studying of exactly how smart hummingbirds are? See:

Then come back and answer:

Challenge Question #6:
"Why haven't scientists studied hummingbird intelligence as carefully as they've studied the intelligence of crows or pigeons?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Hummer Adaptations: At the Head of the Class
Considering the hummer's tiny head, it's amazing that not only does it fit an intelligent, adapatable brain but also relatively large eyes that can see more colors than we can, and ears that may hear some sounds we can't! We're going to take a look at hummingbird adaptations, from head to tail in the coming weeks. This time, think about the hummingbird's tiny head. Think of all the features you can think of that help a hummingbird experience and adapt to the important things in its environment. Then answer this question:

Challenge Question #7:
"How do each of these features serve a hummingbird's unique lifestyle?"

    • eyes
    • ears
    • tongue
    • beak
    • feathers surrounding beak
    • feathers covering ears
    • colorful throat patch

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Muscling In: Discussion of Challenge Question #4
Muscles only have power when they're twitching, getting shorter. So we asked, "If all of a hummingbird's flight muscles are in its chest, how might those muscles be designed so it can have power when it raises AND lowers its wings?"

To see how the supracoracoides and pectoralis muscles pull opposite each other, click on drawing. Drawing by N. John Schmitt, from Home Study Course in Bird Biology, 2nd edition,published by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

THAT was a tricky question! Fifth graders Avery and Kate from Ferrisburgh Central School got a great start, writing, "One-third of the hummingbird's weight is in muscles. We think that the chest has a lot of those muscles. We believe that there are two layers of muscles in the chest. While one set is contracting, the other is expanding."

Avery and Kate are exactly right. Hummers, like all birds, have two sets of flight muscles, the pectoralis and the supracoracoideus muscles. The supracoracoideus muscle, which is sandwiched between the pectoralis and the big keel bone (the sternum), is connected to a tendon that loops around a bone to pull opposite from the pectoralis, like a pulley. That way there is lots of force on both the upstroke and the downstroke, while all the weight of these important muscles is beneath the wings, allowing the bird to be aerodynamic.

How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-humm@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #5 (OR #6 OR #7)
3. In the body of your message, answer the question.

The Next Hummingbird Migration Update Will Be Posted on April 4, 2002 (data only).

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