# Wow! I just stared down a hummingbird! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021 "2004-05-01T18:53:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/1 "2004-05-01T18:53:05Z")
I’d never seen one here in the city before, though I know they’re here. I’ve certainly never seen one less than a foot from my face before! Cool! I was at my third story window, looking down to where my neighbor’s dog had been looking for peanuts I toss out for the window for the crows and sparrows (and the dog.) I heard this little tut-tut noise and looked up to find myself eye to eye with a hummer! It had come to investigate my geraniums, the flowers of which were right next to my head. It stayed several seconds, long enough for me to get a good look at it. It was probably an Anna’s, which is the most common in this area. Wow! It was right there! I hope it comes back! I have a houseplant with purple trumpet-shaped flowers so I moved that to where the hummer could get to it. Now I want to go get some honeysuckle or something I know it would like. Ain’t nature wonderful? ---
**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:** [May 1, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/2 "2004-05-01T19:03:24Z")
A feeder would be nice. I thought we only had the ruby throated hummer in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/3 "2004-05-01T19:15:43Z")
Nope. But looking through my book, it looks like the Ruby-Throated is the only eastern one. There’s six varities that make their homes in the extreme southwest and mainly in Mexico. And then there’s Then there’s another six varieties cover larger portions of the west, four of which live here in Washington. I forgot to mention that mine was also a stealth hummer. No telltale sound other than it telling me, 'Tut-tut." Come on, Dopers, tell me your stories of the hummingbird kind. Or any bird, for that matter! ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/4 "2004-05-01T19:59:39Z")
[US Hummers](http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html#Trochilidae): Broad-billed Hummingbird \*Cynanthus latirostris \* White-eared Hummingbird \*Hylocharis leucotis \* Buff-bellied Hummingbird \*Amazilia yucatanensis \* Violet-crowned Hummingbird \*Amazilia violiceps \* Blue-throated Hummingbird \*Lampornis clemenciae \* Magnificent Hummingbird \*Eugenes fulgens \* Lucifer Hummingbird \*Calothorax lucifer \* Ruby-throated Hummingbird \*Archilochus colubris \* Black-chinned Hummingbird \*Archilochus alexandri \* Anna’s Hummingbird \*Calypte anna \* Costa’s Hummingbird \*Calypte costae \* Calliope Hummingbird \*Stellula calliope \* Broad-tailed Hummingbird \*Selasphorus platycercus \* Rufous Hummingbird \*Selasphorus rufus \* Allen’s Hummingbird Wow, lots of hummers. I think I’ve seen only about half. My favorite hummer memory (I couldn’t ID the species) is when I saw a hummer mob a Red-tailed Hawk that was sitting on a post. I think the hawk was barely aware of the fearless little guy’s presence. 🙂 A really great place to take a birding vacation is at the [Asa Wright Nature Center](http://www.caligo.com/trinidad/ttbirdlist.html) where you can see a wide variety of birds, including some fantastic hummers right outside your bungalow. The Tufted Coquettes are really [gorgeous](http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/TuftedCoquette(LM).jpg). And aggressive. The males really beat the crap out of each other. I band birds for a living, but the smallest thing I’ve put a federal bracelet on is a Winter Wren. I hope \*\*Colibri \*\* pops in to tell us some hummingbird adventures. I want to know how on earth one bands a hummer. I know it involves cutting your own bands, but how do you handle those tiny tiny legs? ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/5 "2004-05-01T20:04:42Z")
Please add _Selasphorus sasin_ to the empty space above. :o ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/6 "2004-05-01T20:17:57Z")
> [@Tikki](#): > > I forgot to mention that mine was also a stealth hummer. No telltale sound other than it telling me, 'Tut-tut." > > Come on, Dopers, tell me your stories of the hummingbird kind. Or any bird, for that matter! Mushc to my father’s shock, a little hummingbird stared him down one suny, summer afternoon, on our back porch. Now, we live in _Ontario_! While we’ve seen plenty of the little whirring bird-copters in our home state of NM, _never_ did we expect to see one up here! (I was a witness.) It just amde a whirring sound, buzzed in front of my father’s face for a moment, and then buzzed over the top of our house like a little wee, feather helicopter. My father was excited and promtpy went out and got a sugar-water feeder thing, but we never saw another one. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/7 "2004-05-01T21:00:08Z")
A few years ago I was at a picnic and had too much beer. I was napping on the back porch and everyone esle went in to play pictionary. I heard a loud buzzing and thought “damn, that is one big bumblebee.” I opened my eyes to see a humming bird about a foot from my eyes, hovering back and forth, clearly checking me out. It was pretty cool! ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/8 "2004-05-01T21:53:05Z")
**Tikki** I don’t have a personal hummingbird story, but you can enjoy the fact that the hummingbird is special for three traits: 1. It is the smllest bird 2. Of all the birds, it has the fastest wing-beat and 3. Is the only bird that can fly backwards. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/9 "2004-05-01T22:04:46Z")
It’s pretty cool how many Hummers are in the Colorado Mountain valleys and meadows during summer. I used to have a feeder here in Denver and it had a bird or two a lot of the time. I got rid of it though cause the neighborhood cats seemed to think I was creating a buffet for them. > [@](#): > > I opened my eyes to see a humming bird about a foot from my eyes, hovering back and forth, clearly checking me out. It was pretty cool! Several times I’ve had them stop within a foot in front of my face and just look curiously at me. One time I killed one myself though. ☹ I was relaxing on a rock enjoying the sun and a beer. I heard a wierd sound and opened my eyes and there was this thing right in my face. I paniced and swatted it hard. It hit into a tree and died then I saw it was just a friendly little hummer. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/10 "2004-05-01T22:51:10Z")
One time I was walking with my parents in the woods someplace (I know we were on vacation, but I don’t remember where), my dad was startled by a hummingbird, which tried to chase him away from the area. This behavior was striking enough to make us wonder what the bird was trying to protect. The bird flew back to a branch, and we saw the tiniest birds nest I’ve ever seen, complete with three of the tiniest bird beaks I’ve ever seen. The nest looked like a place where a smaller branch had broken off the large branch. If the first hummingbird had ignored us, we never would have seen the nest or the babies beaks. My mother likes to grow Verbena and geraniums for humming birds. They also like the hibiscus blooms. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/11 "2004-05-01T23:37:18Z")
I was planting Sea Pinks today when I heard behind me what sounded like a dog growling. For one scary moment I thought the neighbor’s rottweiler had gotten loose and was about to attack me, but when I looked up I saw a black chinned hummingbird go by. I plant Hummingbird Mint (Agastache rupestris and Agastache cana) for them; it’s a really cool plant because it blooms all summer and smells like rootbeer. I also plant Penstemons for them, although Penstemons have a short life expectancy and have to be replaced every few years. Another plant they enjoy is Autumn Sage (Salvia greggi.) ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/12 "2004-05-02T00:02:53Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A feeder would be nice. > I thought we only had the ruby throated hummer in the USA. No, as others have pointed out we are just sadly hummingbird deprived here in eastern North America. The western half of the continent gets quite a few different species. And the rubythroat does breed as far north as Ontario. For those of you who don’t know there is a website that tracks the northward rubythroat migration every year: [http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html](http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html) I myself have embarked on a multiyear project to get more hummingbirds to visit my yard. This includes feeders, hanging annuals like impatiens and fuschia, and planting perennials that will someday be big enough that I can ditch the annuals. Last year I planted trumpet creeper which hasn’t taken off yet, and trumpet honeysuckle which has. This year I am trying to also plant bee balm, salvia, lupine and cardinal flower. Sadly I am pretty sure most of the plants **KRC** suggested won’t grow up here. I had a grand total of four hummingbird sightings in my yard last year (three could well have been the same bird) but this was an increase of 100% over the two I saw the year before. Seriously, I am hardly ever home during the day so I am sure we had many more visits than that. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/13 "2004-05-02T00:08:07Z")
When I lived in Southern California there was a bird-of-paradise plant outside the back door that was always in bloom. Lots of big pretty flowers, year-round. We didn’t need to get a hummingbird feeder, we had one right there. There was at least one out there more often than not. Cute little guys, they are! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/14 "2004-05-02T12:00:17Z")
> [@brachyrhynchos](#): > > [US Hummers](http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html#Trochilidae): > Broad-billed Hummingbird \*Cynanthus latirostris \* > White-eared Hummingbird \*Hylocharis leucotis \* > Buff-bellied Hummingbird \*Amazilia yucatanensis \* > Violet-crowned Hummingbird \*Amazilia violiceps \* > Blue-throated Hummingbird \*Lampornis clemenciae \* > Magnificent Hummingbird \*Eugenes fulgens \* > Lucifer Hummingbird \*Calothorax lucifer \* > Ruby-throated Hummingbird \*Archilochus colubris \* > Black-chinned Hummingbird \*Archilochus alexandri \* > Anna’s Hummingbird \*Calypte anna \* > Costa’s Hummingbird \*Calypte costae \* > Calliope Hummingbird \*Stellula calliope \* > Broad-tailed Hummingbird \*Selasphorus platycercus \* > Rufous Hummingbird \*Selasphorus rufus \* > Allen’s Hummingbird Don,t forget about the [Oral-B Hummingbird!](http://www.oralb.com/products/product.asp?tid=products&sub=power&cid=power&pid=hbird)😃 ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/15 "2004-05-02T12:14:22Z")
> [@brachyrhynchos](#): > > …Anna’s Hummingbird \*Calypte anna \* I had a newspaper editor call at work to double-check on the reporter’s information for a local story. Seems the reporter had turned in the story mentioning several hummingbird species, including the “Anus Hummingbird”. We both got a good chuckle out of that one. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/16 "2004-05-03T00:51:41Z")
**Shakes** , I’ve actually been looking for one of those flossers - thanks for the link. Heh, **screech-owl** , what a mistake! The Anus Hummingbird, another lbb\* (little butt bird). - for those unfamiliar with it, lbb (or lbj) is a birder/twitcher/ornithophile term referring to any small, unidentified bird = little brown bird (or little brown job). ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/17 "2004-05-03T01:09:14Z")
> [@brachyrhynchos](#): > > … \* for those unfamiliar with it, lbb (or lbj) is a birder/twitcher/ornithophile term referring to any small, unidentified bird = little brown bird (or little brown job). Yup, used this one myself. (former)Roommate and I were strolling through Animal Kingdom when we heard this weird call out of the tree (not in the aviary area). He asked me what it was and I told him, “Oh, that’s we call an Elby Jay.” “Really?” “Little Brown Jobbie.” We heard a snort and a “_Mom!!!_” behind us. Turned around, and some woman had done a Coke spittake all over her child. ---
**Author:** ![International\_Playboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/48db29/32.png) [@International\_Playboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/International_Playboy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/18 "2004-05-03T01:36:53Z")
Funny, I was getting ready to wash my car last night and a humming bird came up to see what I was doing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/19 "2004-05-03T01:46:53Z")
So which is the bird that is the logo for Air Jamaica? I know I’ve seen some info on it, but can’t remember what the thing is called, except I’d heard of it referred to as a “Doctor Bird”. And of course, my “Hummingbirds of North America”, just like my “Walker’s Guide to Mammals”, has taken a long hike. (Please forgive me. I’d do a search, but the computer is running really, really groggy right now.) ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021/20 "2004-05-03T01:50:59Z")
From time to time, we would get hummingbirds as far north as my parents farm in central Saskatchewan, about 53 deg N. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-just-stared-down-a-hummingbird/243021.md?page=2)