Evening star., 1948-07-27
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Tracemell

A correspondent wants to know if humming-
birds perch on the back of larger birds when
migrating?
No. they do not
This tale arose in the days when little If
anything was known of migration.
1t was not understood how such tiny birds
could make such long flights
Especially it was doubted that they could
fly across the Gulf of Mexico without some aid.
Hence the fiction of riding on the backs of
other birds.
****
Today little more is known about migra-
Not much more, 1t is true. The latest theory
is that migration arose millions of years ago,
before the continents, as we knew them today,
were formed.
What is known as continental drift" the
splitting Of the great land masses, forced the
birds to fly from one section to another for
food.
Today they are just doing what comes nat
urally," or really what came naturally then,
although many of them would be better off to
stay put"
Investigation Of the flights of hummers and
others on migration have shown that hun
dreds of them never make it.
Thousands do, however; but at no time do
they utilize the larger wings of other birds.
That story is sheer hokum; a bright idea it
was, but isn't so bright, after all
Sometimes hummingbrds in anger attack
larger birds, ramming the long bill into the
enemy.
Unable to withdraw the bill, they remain
there.
This unhappy sight might have given rise,
in the first place, to the legend that hummers
ride the backs of other birds in migration.
X X
While hummers are the smallest of birds
they probably weigh as much as many of the
warblers
All of these small creatures do mighty Jobs in
migration.
Each seems to be ideally fitted for such
Journeys.
1t is nothing for little fellow weighing no
more than half an ounce to fly 5000 miles
twice year.
Thus they go from Canada to Central
America and back again.
Our only hummingbird In this section Is
the ruby -throated.
He is beauty; one, in his case, is quite
enough
The female of the species is green all over
The nest is no larger than walnut.
1t usually is placed on a tree limb so that
it is practically invisible.
There have been some cases, however, of
hummers nesting in odd places, such as above
a street light bulb.
The noise of traffic in no way offended the
parents.
The eggs are tiny, white, no more than two
as a rule.
Each egg is about the size of the tip of a
small little finger
The baby bird is equally microscopic, at least
in comparison with average sized birds.
Baby hummers are not fed on nectar" as
is commonly thought, but upon the exceedingly
small insects found in bellshaped flowers such
as the patmia gladiolus. trumpet vine, etc
1t is always necessary. in writing about the
ruby -throated hummingbird to caution gard
eners not to confuse it with one form Of moth,
which much resembles it. This moth in this
phase of its life is green and feathery looking
and hovers over flowers, especially phlox, ex-
actly as a hummingbird does. But what gives
it away Is its absolute fearlessness. 1t is
possible to cup hand over the insect. This
could never be done with q hummingbird.
Hummers come to the most crowded sections
OF the city. In fact, there are probably more
of them in Georgetown than In Chevy Chase
or Wesley Heights.