# Do humminbirds really hitch rides on the backs of other birds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humminbirds-really-hitch-rides-on-the-backs-of-other-birds/355795 "2006-05-07T20:17:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humminbirds-really-hitch-rides-on-the-backs-of-other-birds/355795/21 "2013-09-09T12:51:51Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Just because I saw this and we’ve had one particular lady hummingbird, every half an hour or so, for a month after years of never seeing anything at our feeder - when will she go? We haven’t seen her in days and I wonder if she’s left. (We’re in central South Carolina.) In New England, the males leave just around Labor Day, with the females and juveniles maybe trailing a couple of weeks after that. My males have been gone for almost two weeks now, but I had one female check me out on Friday. I wouldn’t be surprised if South Carolina is on a slightly later schedule, given the climate and the (relative) proximity to the Gulf. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humminbirds-really-hitch-rides-on-the-backs-of-other-birds/355795/22 "2013-09-09T13:27:35Z")
Sounds about right. Latitude should have a lot to do with it as day length is the primary trigger. From what I read yesterday at least. Apparently it’s programmed into the birds and they should use approximately the same arrival and departure dates every year. I’m going to mark a calendar next year when I first start hearing males, and then when I see a bird at the feeder. Supposedly, this year’s birds will remember where the feeder is next year. We’ll see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humminbirds-really-hitch-rides-on-the-backs-of-other-birds/355795.md?page=1)