The Only Bird That Can Fly Backwards -- Charlene Uhl

Ruby-throated hummingbird sipping nectar from bee balm flower; Credit: Charlene Uhl

Hummer approaching sugar water feeder; Credit: Charlene Uhl

Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County

Ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) come to our sugar water feeders every year in Madison County. This year, we started to plant native flowers in one of our raised beds, including one of their favorites: bee balm (Monarda didyma). The sugar water feeders are within ten feet of these flowers. Our hummers regularly fly back and forth between the feeders and the flowers, almost like their “all you can eat” food bar. Hummers have outstanding spatial memory and can remember feeder locations years later. They are able to keep track of bloom peaks and remember which flowers they have visited. Scientists attribute these skills to the large portion of a hummingbird’s brain that is occupied by the hippocampus, an area dedicated to learning and spatial memory. 

Worldwide, there are over 360 species of hummingbirds and they are found only in the Americas. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats from desert scrubland to above tree line at 10,000 feet in the Andes. Unfortunately like many birds, habitat loss is threatening many species.  The U.S has only 15 species; the Ruby-throated is the only hummer found east of the Great Plains. Ecuador has the largest number of species of hummers of any country: 130.  

The average life span of a hummingbird ranges from 3-5 years. The oldest know Ruby-throated “hummer” was a banded female that was captured (then re-released) in West Virginia in 2014 – it was least nine years and two months old. 

Here are some remarkable statistics on these tiny birds, whose amazing acrobatic flying skills are a big part of their attraction: 

• They beat their wings 60 to 80 times per second. 
• Their high energy needs require that they feed continuously throughout the day. The Ruby-throated can visit more than 1,000 flowers a day and consume up to half its weight in nectar between sunrise and sunset. Since flowers provide their main food, they pollinate thousands of different plants.
• The smallest bird in the world is a hummingbird – the Bee Hummingbird - endemic to Cuba. This bird is about 2 inches long and weights approximately 1.6 grams.
• Due to its extremely short legs, the Ruby-throated cannot walk or hop – at best it can “shuffle” along a perch. However their skeletal and flight muscle adaptions give them amazing agility in flight. They can fly forward and backward as well as hover in flight. 
• Rub-throated hummingbirds are solitary. Male Ruby-throateds don’t stick around long. Pairs are together long enough for courtship and mating – just a matter of days to weeks. Then the male leaves the female and may actually begin migration by early August.
• The courtship display is fascinating to watch. The male flies back and forth in front of the female in a wide U-shaped pendulum arc, making a whirring sound on each dive. He will drive all other males away.
• The nest is built by the female and is a compact cup of grasses, plant fibers and spider webs lined with plant down. The female will camouflage the outside with lichens and dead leaves. The nest stretches as the young grow.
• These tiny birds can travel around 1,200 miles during their migration between eastern North America and Central America each year.

Here are some birding tips on how to attract hummers to your yard:

• Plant native flowering plants
• Reduce pesticide use
• Keep your yard free of cats

For more information and a list of top native hummingbird plants check out this website from the American Bird Conservancy.

Happy birding!    
    
Charlene    

---