my friend Daystrom had a big tree in front of his house with a hummingbird nest. From his balcony you could look right into the net. It was so cool! Sadly, they cut the tree down because the people living further downstairs complained that they had no light (if I lived in LA I'd be happy to have shade! It's unbelievably hot there) Interestingly, no hummingbird ever flew into his window. And come to think of it, I've never heard of a hummingbird ever having such an accident. Could it be that hummingbirds are smarter than other birds? Or do they just react quicker?
^ Not really. In our previous house, we had a screened-in back patio, and hummingbirds would frequently get stuck in there. I'd occasionally have to disentangle one from the screen.
ah, then it's really true that they have such a bad vision? When I pretty excitedly told Day of my very first encounter with a humming bird he got all worried and inquired "oh my god! Did it savage you?" Me, dumbfounded: "Attack me?! Come on, we're talking about a bonsai-bird feeding on nectar, not a Condor!" upon which he explained that they have pretty poor exesight and often accidentially fly against people wearing colourful clothing. Rumour has it that one once got stuck in the cleavage of a lady wearing a dress with a flower print. (Must have been highly uncomfortable for both parties involved...)
I posted a similar topic a few years back. Heard a large thud against the window, looked out and saw a bird on the ground wondering wtf happened. He couldn't take off again and ran into a bush. Happens sometimes. I think the window reflected the sky and it didn't notice.
^^ I can't recall if he actually phrased it like this, but the image it created was that of a rabid monster, savagely attacking any human in sight. He definitely thought that hummingbirds rated at the same danger level as rattlesnakes and grizzlies (but then he is city bred...).
I forget where I read it-- Smithsonian, maybe, or Natural History or National Geographic-- but, pound for pound (or ounce for ounce [or gram for gram]), hummingbirds are one of the most savage animals on Earth. Sciffy should make a movie about Were-Hummingbirds.
Memory unclear. Competition with other hummingbirds for nectar, maybe. Or defense of territory. Competition for mates. I'll see if I can track it down if I get a minute.
http://birding.about.com/od/birdbehavior/a/Hummingbird-Aggression.htm The ruby-throated hummingbird is said to be particularly aggressive and even defends flowers it considers its property. also full article here: http://umaine.edu/publications/7152e/ that'd make them perfect were-vampire hummingbirds!
you're welcome. I was doing some other zoological internet search anyway, so that it wasn't really much work. You can defend yourself against the vampire were-hummingbirds with garlick flowers with a silver bullet in them:
might win us an Oscar. I know three writers and a postproduction sound/optical effects specialist. Now we just need a CGI guy and a sound & camera team. Bonzie is a very good seamstress (not in the Pratchett-ish sense!) and could sew the costumes. make up is not *that* difficult - we have many talented people here. But we need someone with money. C perhaps? With all these ads here he must be the Dutch equivalent of Rockefeller.