So what does a hummingbird fight to the death look like?

[Cheshire_Human]

Anyone have any good high-frame-rate slo-mo video? That last one up-thread was pretty crappy.

[Ludovic]

@Colibri

a hummer probably can’t strike with enough force to kill another unless the blow was very lucky.

I haven’t been very lucky with blows lately, but if I had to die it would have to be from a forceful hummer.

[ducati]

@Xema

I find that if you station yourself a couple of feet from a feeder and stand still, the birds will stay away for about 2 minutes. They then regard you as part of the scenery, and behave just as if you weren’t there.

Oh, you’d think that, but no.

I set up a camera a couple of feet from a feeder one time. I stood still right by the tripod with the remote in hand. When one of the little bastards came to feed, I snapped the picture. When the flash went off, it surprised him, he flew back about 3 feet, stared at me, then attacked! I got 2 tiny puncture wounds on my temple!

I don’t go out there anymore!

[Xema]

@ducati

When the flash went off, it surprised him, he flew back about 3 feet, stared at me, then attacked! I got 2 tiny puncture wounds on my temple!

You need to omit the flash - hummingbirds are notoriously vain and they believe they look their best only in natural light.

[shijinn]

so if we could train hummingbirds as cage-free pets, we’ll make a fortune off of celebrities!

[InvisibleNinja]

This post is old so not sure you’ll get my reply but here it goes.

Okay so I was somewhere between 6 and 8 when I was in the back yard of my aunts house. She had a hummingbird feeder and we used to watch them all the time. Well this particular day my mom had come to pick me up and we were out back, I can’t remember why. 2 hummingbirds were hanging around and fighting over the feeder. One of them flew up and sat on a wire that was strung across above the house but still low enough for us to see at a close distance. All of a sudden the other one flew at the bird on the wire and stabbed him right in the chest. The one stabbed fell to the ground. I was so freaked out! I went over to the one on the ground as did my aunt and my mom. Sadly the bird was dead, as he was stabbed right through the heart.

We buried the bird and I carry this story in my heart, as I will for the rest of my life. Being so young and seeing one of the most majestic birds be so cruel devastated me.

Most people wouldn’t believe this story and I totally get that, but it’s true. It absolutely happened and even my mom remembers it to this day. I’m 32 now so it happened in the early 90s.

So there you have it. Even beautiful hummingbirds can commit cold blooded murder. My views on birds in general changed that day.

@Finagle

I have hummingbirds at my feeders. Or more specifically, I have one male who’s sure that they are his feeders, and I have a few other hummingbirds who make frequent attempts to fly in under the radar and have a few sips of nectar. This usually results in a furious blur of hummingbird politics which ends up with the interloper flying off with the local proprietor in hot pursuit.

My question is – what happens if the interloper refuses to flee and just ignores the attacking hummingbird’s hissyfits? What can one hummingbird do to another? Can they do serious damage with their beaks? Would a hummingbird actually damage or kill another hummingbird, or do they rely strictly on intimidation?

As a side question, I’ve seen videos of feeders in which hummingbirds appear to be co-existing in reasonable harmony. Often there’s a cloud of 10 or more hummingbirds each waiting their turn for a spot at the feeder. Under what circumstances do hummingbirds switch mode from a Hobbesian “every bird for himself” to a more communal flock behavior? Is it sheer volume of feeders?

[bob_2]

In England the cute little Robin is pretty much our national bird. They too are fiercely territorial.

Here is video of fighting robins Robins Feb 09 - YouTube

Here is a good slomo of hummingbirds. Real Angry Birds! Slow Motion Hummingbirds 10 - fights and bites V11324 - YouTube

[Jonathan_Chance]

@Fluke54

I don’t want to live in a world where one hummingbird will kill another hummingbird, or anything, for that matter. Hummingbirds are cute!

My old Petersen’s guide had this listed for temperment, “Pugnacious” for the ruby throat.

In Virginia I used to be able to watch them about 30 feet from my porch in a small stand of trees. Typically the fight would start with one at a feeder and another getting up a big head of steam and slamming into the interloper full tilt. Little bastards mean business.

[Leo_Bloom]

@Colibri

…
There is a dominance hierarchy among hummingbird species (the subject of my doctoral thesis)…

Hmmm…recognizing dominance hierarchy among flittering bickering and competing small-minded individuals.

Now I know why you’re a mod.

[dba_Fred]

And we’re the subject of Colibri’s current doctoral thesis! :eek: