Do Hummingbirds Hum?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Hummingbirds

SIX: Dangers and Defenses

SIX Dangers and Defenses Question 1: What are the natural predators of hummingbirds? Answer: For a human, a bite of hummingbird would not be very satisfying. But for some animals, a nice hummingbird, loaded with nectar and perhaps stuffed with fat before its migration , makes a hardy and nutritious meal. Although hummingbirds are tiny, most weighing only a few grams (a fraction of an ounce), they have many natural and some unwelcome, unnatural predators. The most efficient hummingbird predator is probably the domestic or feral cat. Yes, letting your sweet little fluffy pussycat outside into the garden may spell the end for several of your favorite hummingbirds. Eggs and young hummingbirds are also routinely consumed by small mammals, including some bats, as well as by predatory birds like jays, crows, ravens, and toucans. In anthropomorphic terms, hummingbirds can seem arrogant . They often appear to feel supremely sure that they are faster and more skillful at dodging a predator than is any other bird, and it is not unusual for them to seemingly ignore the potential for predation while they are intent on their nectar-feeding activities. Cats, snakes, large lizards, roadrunners (birds), and even praying mantises take advantage of this attitude by remaining immobile, waiting for an unwary bird to get just close enough to snatch. Hummingbird feeders hung from the eaves of a house or too near a tree or bush will entice these predators 98 DO HUMMINGBIRDS HUM? to climb up on a window ledge or tree branch and wait for birds to hover at the feeder within easy reach. With their rapid, blurry wing motion, small hummingbirds are sometimes taken for insects and preyed upon by animals that don’t normally eat birds. Two insects that apparently make this mistake are praying mantises and dragonflies, and there are said to be records of frogs and even of a bass capturing hummingbirds, almost certainly because they were perceived as insects. Other predators do not lie in wait. Small raptors like the American Kestrel, Merlin, and Sharp-shinned Hawk capture perching hummingbirds when they rest in a bush with their eyes shut, as they typically do during midday. Some hawks and some of the larger members of the flycatcher family are even able to catch the birds in flight. Brilliantly colored members of the tanager family have been seen catching and eating hummingbirds , and small owls can find sleeping hummingbirds at night. Hummingbirds sometimes get caught in spider webs as they collect bits of the webbing to glue their nesting materials together. Birds have to be wary of a large and sticky web and of the spider that maintains it. Insects that bite and sting such as ants, bees, and wasps usually do not pose a danger to hummingbirds, although these insects may share some of the same nectar sources. Hummingbirds usually bypass flowers that are filled with ants or honey bees, or those at which a large solitary wasp is at work. Question 2: How do hummingbirds defend themselves and their food supply? Answer: Their primary defense is their ability to escape through rapid reaction and flight, and they have excellent eyesight that helps them see potential danger (see Chapter 2, Question 15: Do hummingbirds have good eyesight?). If a predator grabs at a hummingbird from behind, its loosely attached tail feathers easily pull out, giving the bird a chance to escape (the feathers grow back quickly). Hummingbirds do not have any DANGERS AND DEFENSES 99 physical defenses except against their own kind. There are examples of hummingbirds being impaled by another hummingbird ’s bill and both eventually perishing. The birds use their feet when fighting with each other—the feet, although relatively small, have claws of long and sharp curved toenails that can do some damage to another hummingbird (see figure 19). Some hummingbirds defend their nectar sources by claiming sole control of a feeder, challenging any other hummingbird that approaches it, regardless of size, species, sex, or age. Continued territorial defense of a feeder or flower patch can require the expenditure of a great deal of energy, and if an overwhelming number of challengers appear, the bird will give up. Hummingbirds may attempt to drive away raptors and other large birds that are potential predators, usually by repeated rapid diving at and buzzing of the intruder, rather than by physical contact (see figure 18 illustrating a dive display). In some cases, hummingbirds join together...