# Odd Hummingbird Behavior **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467 "2008-06-19T13:16:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/1 "2008-06-19T13:16:47Z")
Each spring/summer I feed the ruby throated hummingbirds that spend time in Western Pennsylvania. Each year, they visit the [feeders](http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/vetbridge/?action=view¤t=backporch.jpg) and plants throughout the day, darting off to the woods after each feed. They seem to be particular to some big tulip trees. This year (actually this past week) there has been a hummer “living” on my back porch, six feet away from the feeder. (S)he feeds, then [sits on the rope of my skychair](http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/vetbridge/?action=view¤t=hummingbird.jpg) . When I step through my door, he flies off, but returns the minute I go back inside. This behavior has been going on all day, every day, for the past 3 or 4 days! Last night I looked out at 8:30 and he was still there! He is always in the exact same spot. My gf thought I was exaggerating, so I took serial pictures yesterday, documenting that he was there every 15 minutes for 3 hours (4 to 7 pm). I assume he just wants to be close to a food source. Anything else you might suggest would be interesting/appreciated. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/2 "2008-06-19T13:38:37Z")
It sounds like (s)he is being extra territorial. I know the ones we have at our feeder (last year I counted 8 birds at one time) fight pretty strongly for space and access. Yours may just be staking a claim. We don’t have anything that close to the feeder that they could perch on and your chair just may be the perfect vantage point. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/3 "2008-06-19T13:40:46Z")
A link to hummingbird territoriality: > **[Hummingbird: territorial behavior, territoriality](https://www.rubythroat.org/RTHUTerritorialityMain.html)** > > Hummingbird: Hummingbirds typically exhibit strong territorial behvaior. An adult male drives other birds out of its territory. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/4 "2008-06-19T13:49:14Z")
Thanks **plnnr**. Good link. I’ve seen them battle before. From your link: > [@](#): > > After the breeding season is over, RTHUs of either sex and any age may attempt to monopolize a hummingbird feeder; however, because the feeder represents a super-rich, almost indefensible food source, several birds will probably “take turns” during the day dominating the feeder. Maybe I’ll hang another feeder in my front yard. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/5 "2008-06-19T13:51:06Z")
Lilly, Queen of the Universe, found a hummingbird nest last summer with a single egg in it. It was very, very, very small and one of the coolest things I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/6 "2008-06-19T14:00:23Z")
Wow. That would be a find!! I had to find a pic of a [nest](http://www.rubythroat.org/QuestionsNestEggs01.html) . 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/7 "2008-06-19T14:06:01Z")
My grandparents have a nest on their porch this year, on a tiny wind chime. I hope to get down there to take some photographs sometime while it’s there, but it’s a wind chime, so it may already be gone. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/8 "2008-06-19T14:16:14Z")
You think _that’s_ strange? [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byM4_JtOZbk&feature=related) hummingbird is a _real_ jerk. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/9 "2008-06-19T14:21:05Z")
^ hehe. _It’s Hummer Time_.😉 ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/10 "2008-06-19T15:24:14Z")
We have lots here in San Diego. For one of our Girl Scout meetings last year we invited a local animal rescue volunteer and she brought a hummingbird chick she was raising. It was unbelievably tiny and cute. We also got to watch a mother sitting on a nest we discovered in a local botanical garden. We didn’t peek inside when she went to feed, because we didn’t want to freak her out, but I don’t thinks the egg(s) had hatched yet. They can be very territorial and will even buzz people, if they feel like it. I’ve had one get close enough to feel a breeze. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/11 "2008-06-19T15:32:55Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Wow. That would be a find!! [/QUOTE] There’s one in a tree near me - I’ve seen the female fly to it multiple times. Unfortunately, it’s not really visible (even with binocs) and inaccessible (about 40’ off the ground). ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/12 "2008-06-19T15:36:00Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] They can be very territorial and will even buzz people, if they feel like it. [/QUOTE] One bird guidebook describes them as “pugnacious” - and that’s about right. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/13 "2008-06-19T16:01:00Z")
I thought this thread was about the GQ mod. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/14 "2008-06-19T20:36:16Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] it’s not really visible (even with binocs) and inaccessible (about 40’ off the ground). [/QUOTE] They are not stupid. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/15 "2008-06-20T01:05:31Z")
Not long ago, I started a thread about birds who built a nest on top of my door. They’re still not eager to directly confront humans, but they _DO_ guard their nests, and will return to their posts the moment you leave. Somehow, I think a hummingbird nest will be tough to spot (y’know, what with 'em being really small and all) :). If you know any birdwatchers, invite them over and they’ll be happy to look around. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/16 "2008-06-20T04:05:41Z")
Hummingbirds are assholes; I can watch them for hours. Rowdy little fuckers, all Napoleon complex and pointiness. I once saw a hummingbird fly up below a robin on a wire and poke him in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/17 "2008-06-21T16:14:17Z")
The little guy is still hanging out! I have mentioned him to a few friends. Two people have stopped over and were surprised to see I was not exaggerating. He was there late last night as it began getting dark, and when I awoke this am, he was at his post again! If he is not there, all you need to do is wait a minute and he returns. I tried getting a pic last night, as he was sitting there and my dog was sleeping on the porch right below him, but I couldn’t get a good shot through the storm door’s glass. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-hummingbird-behavior/453467/18 "2008-06-21T18:04:47Z")
As has been said, this is very typical behavior for a hummingbird defending a territory. They will sit on one or a few perches next to a food source through most of the day, and attempt to chase out anything that enters the territory, including other hummingbirds, insects, and much larger birds or other animals. (I have seen hummers attack macaws, other birds, and even a large lizard.) I did my thesis on hummingbird territoriality in Panama. One of the results was that hummingbirds will defend as much as they possibly can, even if it is in excess to their own needs. It looks to me like the hummer in the photo is a male, though it’s too dark to be sure. If it has a red throat, it’s a male.