Hummingbirds

This high-speed flash photo of a male broadbill hummingbird was taken without the electric eye that R.W. Scott usually uses, because the hummingbird "will be there and gone before triggering." Hummingbirds flap their wings as many as 100 times per second, which made it a challenge for scientists to figure out how they hover and to replicate this feat mechanically. Biologists have also determined that pound for pound - or should I say ounce for ounce - the hummingbird is the world's fastest flyer, diving up to speeds of 385 body-lengths per second. But the science takes some of the magic out of it, so have a look at this video of the splendid courtship ritual of the Marvellous Spatuletail. And here are a couple of "Marlin Perkins" moments for you:

• My Dad reported that while on the golf course recently he was buzzed by a hummingbird - no doubt attracted to his red shirt. The birds are attracted to red, the color of flowers they frequent, but naturalists discourage against adding red dye to the nectar used in hummingbird feeders and suggest that the red color of the feeder itself is enough of an attraction.
• My sister had an up-close-and-personal hummingbird moment of her own, which she documented in a letter to the New York Times magazine: "Following the recent Los Angeles earthquake, I was returning to my apartment from a neighbor's when I came upon a dead hummingbird. I reached down to take a closer look at its beautiful iridescent green and fuschia body and it flipped onto my arm! I took it home and set a bowl of sugar water next to it. It made no effort to drink, so I dipped my finger in the water and held it to the tiny creature's needlelike beak. To my amazement, a thread of a tongue emerged to drink from my finger. Shortly, it began to eat in this way voraciously. A few minutes later, it flew off. It was a wonderfully happy ending to what had been a traumatic morning. I often remind myself, when I need cheering up, that I have been licked by a hummingbird!"

I have now blogged about both of Melissa's favorite animals - hummingbirds and seahorses (in particular, leafy sea dragons)!