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Hummingbirds (General; Miscellaneous)

Mighty_Emperor

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Early Hummingbird Fossil Found in Germany

Thu May 6, 5:11 PM ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 30-million-year-old hummingbird fossil discovered in Germany is not only the oldest example of the family of tiny, hovering birds but the first found in Europe, surprised scientists said on Thursday.


Nowadays the iridescent nectar-sipping creatures are found in the New World, in North and South America, but they apparently lived much further afield when they evolved, said Gerald Mayr, a zoologist from Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, a natural history museum in Frankfurt, Germany.

"These are the oldest fossils of modern-type hummingbirds, which had not previously been reported from the Old World," Mayr wrote in his report, published in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"The findings demonstrate that early hummingbird evolution was not restricted to the New World."

Until this find the oldest, modern hummingbird fossils were from South America and only about 1 million years old.

Mayr named the new fossil species Eurotrochilus inexpectatus, a name that expresses the unexpected nature of his find.

"The amazing thing about this fossil is that it's essentially a modern hummingbird," Margaret Rubega of the University of Connecticut told Science. "My mind is a little blown."

The pair of inch-and-a-half-long skeletons have shoulders that would have allowed the wings to rotate, a key feature that gives hummingbirds their ability to hover and even fly backward.

The existence of hummingbirds so long ago may help explain why certain flowers were able to evolve in Europe and Asia that have no landing pad for pollinators such as short-tongued bees, Mayr said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&u=/nm/20040506/sc_nm/science_hummingbirds_dc
 
Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA) has a downtown fair every Saturday night in the summer. Recently an excellent Mexican dance troupe performed at this fiesta. In the midst of their Aztec dancing, a hummingbird seemed to materialize in the air in front of them, and hung around for a couple of minutes before darting away. Now, hummingbird sightings aren't unusual at all in the Southwestern summer :D , but from my study of Mexican history these cute little whirlybirds were the symbol of the Aztec war god, Huitzilopochtli! What a coincidence that one appeared in the middle of Aztec dances...maybe :shock:
 
Anna's Hummingbird declared fastest animal on Earth
The humble hummingbird is the fastest animal in the world, scientists have discovered.
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 7:01AM BST 10 Jun 2009

Researchers have found that the spectacular courtship dive of the Anna's Hummingbird makes it comparatively speedier than a jet fighter at full throttle or the space shuttle re-entering the atmosphere.

They found that when the bird, a native of North America, pulls up at the end of the swoop it experiences forces 10 times the pull of gravity – more than even experienced jet pilots can endure without passing out.

The amazing speeds were measured using a series of cameras which calculated that the male bird, which is only four inches long, attained speeds in excess of 58mph, as it dived from 100ft in the air to impress a mate.

The team at the University of California, which reported its findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, revealed that the bird flies at 385 "body lengths a second" which is faster than the previous record holders, the peregrine falcon diving in pursuit of prey and swallows diving from high altitude.

It is also faster than a fighter plane with its afterburners on – 150 "body lengths a second" - and the space shuttle during atmospheric re-entry (207 body lengths a second).

The Anna's Hummingbird, which was named in the 19th century after Anna Massena, Duchess of Rivoli and weighs less than five grams, normally flies at 33mph but hits even higher speeds when display diving during the breeding season.

When a female flies onto a male's territory, he rises up and then dives. At the bottom of the dive when the bird reaches top speed it produces a loud sound, described by some as an "explosive squeak" with its outer tail-feathers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... Earth.html

(With video)
 
Spotted 'hummingbird' actually a moth, says Birdwatch Ireland
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 74114.html
STEPHEN MAGUIRE and STEPHEN MANGAN

Tue, Jul 20, 2010

DOZENS OF birdwatching enthusiasts across the country have called Birdwatch Ireland in recent weeks claiming to have had a rare sighting of a hummingbird.

But the excited twitchers have been told what they thought was a hummingbird is not even a bird, but is actually a large moth, known as a hawk moth.

According to Birdwatch Ireland, dozens of people had contacted the organisation claiming to have spotted the bird, which shares a number of similar characteristics with the moth.

The moth’s long tongue mimics the beak of the bird searching out nectar from flowers and it also rapidly flaps its wings, giving the impression of hovering in mid-air.

Niall Hatch of Birdwatch Ireland said it’s fascinating that two completely different animals share many similar characteristics such as colour, size, eating habits and how they both appear to hover in mid-flight.

Mr Hatch said that a number of sightings of the “fake” hummingbird have come mainly from the Aran Islands and around the general coastal regions because the creature immediately looks for food, after travelling from mainland Europe. “I can only think the Aran Islands may have species of plants which the hawk moth is drawn to.”

Hummingbirds are only found in America, Canada and the Caribbean. “They couldn’t migrate here because it would be physically impossible for them. Most need to feed every 15 minutes and the journey would be too long.”

Meanwhile, an “exceptionally rare” albino jackdaw is causing a stir around local housing estates in Buncrana, Co Donegal.

The bird, named Jackson, was born about six weeks ago and is completely white with pink coloured legs, beak and eyes.

Commenting on the jackdaw’s albinism, Mr Hatch said it is caused by a genetic mutation.

“The survival rate of albino birds tends to be lower because they are so visible to predators and are also susceptible to blindness because their pink eyes don’t have ultraviolet protection.”

He said although Birdwatch Ireland had received a similar report earlier this year from Co Kerry, the occurrence was “exceptionally rare”.
 
(Excerpted from the Hoan Kiem Turtle thread)

I also saw the only hummingbird I have ever seen outside an aviary over that same lake. Not on the same occasion, though. I'm not convinced hummingbirds are native to the region, are they?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
... I also saw the only hummingbird I have ever seen outside an aviary over that same lake. Not on the same occasion, though. I'm not convinced hummingbirds are native to the region, are they?

Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. Sunbirds (a distinct but similar group) are native to eastern / southeastern Asia (and lands westward).

Sunbirds also feed on nectar, and have the distinctive long curved beak one associates with hummingbirds. Some sunbirds can allegedly feed while hovering like a hummingbird, but they generally 'land' to feed.

My guess is that you saw a sunbird.
 
Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. Sunbirds (a distinct but similar group) are native to eastern / southeastern Asia (and lands westward).

I saw a hummingbird sometime around 2001 in Ireland. There was a small crowd of people gathered round the little fella. I've always wondered how he got there? It certainly didn't look like a Hawkmoth.
 
Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. Sunbirds (a distinct but similar group) are native to eastern / southeastern Asia (and lands westward).

Sunbirds also feed on nectar, and have the distinctive long curved beak one associates with hummingbirds. Some sunbirds can allegedly feed while hovering like a hummingbird, but they generally 'land' to feed.

My guess is that you saw a sunbird.

Thank you, that sounds a very plausible explanation.
 
Anna's Hummingbird declared fastest animal on Earth
The humble hummingbird is the fastest animal in the world, scientists have discovered.
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 7:01AM BST 10 Jun 2009

Researchers have found that the spectacular courtship dive of the Anna's Hummingbird makes it comparatively speedier than a jet fighter at full throttle or the space shuttle re-entering the atmosphere.

They found that when the bird, a native of North America, pulls up at the end of the swoop it experiences forces 10 times the pull of gravity – more than even experienced jet pilots can endure without passing out.

The amazing speeds were measured using a series of cameras which calculated that the male bird, which is only four inches long, attained speeds in excess of 58mph, as it dived from 100ft in the air to impress a mate.

The team at the University of California, which reported its findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, revealed that the bird flies at 385 "body lengths a second" which is faster than the previous record holders, the peregrine falcon diving in pursuit of prey and swallows diving from high altitude.

It is also faster than a fighter plane with its afterburners on – 150 "body lengths a second" - and the space shuttle during atmospheric re-entry (207 body lengths a second).

The Anna's Hummingbird, which was named in the 19th century after Anna Massena, Duchess of Rivoli and weighs less than five grams, normally flies at 33mph but hits even higher speeds when display diving during the breeding season.

When a female flies onto a male's territory, he rises up and then dives. At the bottom of the dive when the bird reaches top speed it produces a loud sound, described by some as an "explosive squeak" with its outer tail-feathers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... Earth.html

(With video)

I found this video and thought it fascinating:

Watch: This Hummingbird Changes Colour With Every Turn​

 
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