"I have a hummingbird feeder hanging just outside the window above my desk and have been watching these neat little aerial speedsters close-up all Summer. I happened to mention this to a few people who proceeded to educate me on the finer points of Archilochus colubris, better known as the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.
These well-meaning folks told me stuff about the hummers that seemed more than a little implausible, so I turned to my trusty Googler to find the straight scoop:
Goofy Fact #1 - Hummingbirds have no legs.
Huh? Wha? This commonly believed myth is totally bogus and a little critical thinking should explain why. If this is true, why do hummingbird feeder manufacturers bother to put little plastic perches on the feeders?
This is a hummingbird foot.
Goofy Fact #2 - Hummingbird beaks are really a tube
"Bzzzzzzzt, Wrong! Thank you for playing. Don Pardo, what consolation gifts do we have for our loser?
Merv, we have this beautiful photo of a hummingbird beak showing the tongue lapping liquid just like a cat. No sucking through a mythical tube-beak here!"
Goofy Fact #3 - Hummingbirds migrate by hitching a ride on the backs of Canada geese.
Yeah. Sure. And, they get a complimentary beverage and in-flight movie!
The Canadian Goose migrates South to Virginia, North and South Carolina and flies at altitudes up to 29,000 feet where the oxygen is thin and temperatures are well below freezing. They are well adapted for these conditions having large lungs and lots of body fat. The hummer, being no bigger than a medium gherkin pickle, lacks lung capacity and body fat to survive at these altitudes.
In addition, the hummers migrate to Central America and Southern Mexico. They fly the entire route at treetop level and then across the Gulf of Mexico just inches above the surface.
If the hummer hitched a ride on a Canadian Honker, he'd have to change gooses at Richmond, Virginia and would probably arrive in Coast Rica without his luggage.
The most obvious fact that debunks this myth is that, while hummers do have feet, they lack thumbs with which to indicate their need for a ride.
Canadian Goose hitching a ride to Puerto Vallarta on the head of a hummingbird."
Thanks Dennis for this funny and informative post!
