When Shimmer? When Not?
When you look at an animal, it's usually easy to tell what color it is, but hummingbirds can fool us! Sometimes the hummer's throat feathers, called the gorget, shimmers with color. But other times it looks dark.

For a long time, scientists didn't know what made the gorgets of many male hummingbirds seem to change. But now they have an idea, thanks to special microscopes that allowed them to take a closer look at the feather structures.

Hummingbirds are BIG eaters. While on migration they need a steady supply of food to fuel their flight. Finding nectar sources can mean the difference between life and death. This gallery of images, shared by Journey North observers, offers a few ideas for planting nectar-rich flowers that attract hummingbirds in late summer and fall.

Contributed by Ornithologist Laura Erickson

Problems with:

• nests
• eggs
• babies
• windows and houses
• wintering robins
• other

Q. Can I move and relocate a robin's nest?