Does a hummingbird migrate by hitching a ride on the back of a goose? Not exactly. This Rufous Hummingbird may travel as much as 8,000 miles, as it makes its full migration loop. And a hummingbird can fly backward, forward, hover in one spot, or even flip upside-down momentarily. Learn more about hummingbird migration at JourneyNorth.
Support for BirdNote comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, offering its newest online course, “The Joy of Birdwatching.” Learn more at academy.allaboutbirds.org.
Have you ever wondered how a tiny hummingbird travels thousands of miles during its migration? You’re not alone. The wonder of bird migration has puzzled and mystified people for thousands of years. Before the benefit of bird-banding research and radio transmitters to track migrating birds, folklore, myths, and legends attempted to explain this awe-inspiring phenomenon. One common myth about hummingbirds is that they hopped a ride on the backs of migrating geese.
And here’s a fascinating tale that comes from early cultures living in the dry central highlands of northern Mexico: In the fall after the hummingbirds have finished nesting, when the flowers are finished blooming and there is nothing for them to eat, hummingbirds fly to the branches of trees. They grab hold of a branch and hang down by their beaks. Dangling there, the hummingbirds dry up. They remain lifeless throughout the winter dry-season. Then in the spring, when the rains come, the hummingbirds soak up the rain and come alive again. [Thunder and rain]
Like this myth, the magical presence of hummingbirds seems to leave us all reaching to explain these avian miniatures.[Rufous Hummingbird again]
Support for BirdNote comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, offering its newest online course, “The Joy of Birdwatching.” Learn more at academy.allaboutbirds.org.
Sounds of the Rufous Hummingbird (call and buzzing of wings) provided by the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by G.A.Keller. Desert ambience 2007 05 01 OSI Desert Thunder Birds, and Nature Sound #16 Thunderstorm recorded by Gordon Hempton of QuietPlanet.com Producer: John Kessler Executive Producer: Chris Peterson / Dominic Black © 2015 Tune In to Nature.org Revised for April 2015 / 2018 / 2020
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The three-inch-long Rufous Hummingbird travels one of the furthest migratory routes among all bird species for its size. Its 3,900-mile journey is roughly equal to 78. 4 million body lengths. (In contrast, the 11,000-mile round trip of the Arctic Terns is less than 52 million body lengths.) The Rufous Hummingbird’s migration route is a clockwise loop: in the early spring, the birds depart from their wintering grounds in Mexico and travel a great distance up the Pacific Coast, arriving in Washington State and Canada by May. Following a brief stay in the North (some return as early as July), the birds move south through the Rocky Mountains. Because of habitat loss, rufous hummingbird populations are declining, making this bird an IUCN Near Threatened species.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds can fly up to 20 miles per day once they arrive in the United States, usually in pursuit of their preferred early blooming flowers. Though they occasionally migrate over water in mixed flocks, hummingbirds do not migrate on the backs of geese or other birds, despite what is commonly believed.
Hummingbirds are susceptible to habitat loss across their entire range, just like the majority of land birds. The good news is that each of us can contribute to hummingbird protection.
Most hummingbirds in North America spend the winter in Mexico or Central America. Even though these flights aren’t as lengthy as those taken by warblers headed for South America, they are still remarkable, especially in light of hummingbirds’ small size. For instance, despite weighing little more than a penny, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird can travel 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico in less than a day.
Similar to this myth, hummingbirds’ enchanted presence seems to leave us all trying to figure out how to explain these tiny birds. [Rufous Hummingbird again].
Here’s a fascinating story from early cultures that lived in the arid central highlands of northern Mexico: Hummingbirds fly to tree branches in the fall after they have finished nesting, when the flowers have finished blooming, and when they have run out of food. Grasping a branch, they dangle by their beaks. Dangling there, the hummingbirds dry up. They remain lifeless throughout the winter dry-season. Then, when the rains arrive in the spring, the hummingbirds absorb the moisture and reanimate. [Thunder and rain].
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which is offering its newest online course, “The Joy of Birdwatching,” provides support for BirdNote. ” Learn more at academy. allaboutbirds. org.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds has provided the Rufous Hummingbird’s call and buzzing of wings sounds. Recorded by G. A. Keller. Desert ambience 2007 05 01 OSI Desert Thunder Birds, and Nature Sound #16 Thunderstorm recorded by Gordon Hempton of QuietPlanet. com Executive Producer: Chris Peterson / Dominic Black Producer: John Kessler © 2015 Tune In to Nature org Revised for April 2015 / 2018 / 2020.
You’re not the only one who has ever pondered how a tiny hummingbird manages to travel thousands of miles on its migration. For millennia, the phenomenon of bird migration has baffled and confounded humans. Folklore, myths, and legends tried to explain this amazing phenomenon before the advent of radio transmitters to track migrating birds and the benefits of bird-banding research. A frequently held misconception regarding hummingbirds is that they hitched a ride on migratory geese’ backs.