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tags: Anna's hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, Image of the Day
Female Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, sitting on her nest.
Notice the uncommonly bright colors on her gorget.
This bird is nesting on Bainbridge Island in Washington state.
Image: Eva Gerdts, May 2008. [larger view].
tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Image of the Day
Female mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island this past weekend.
Image: Eva Gerdts, April 2008. [larger view].
tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Washington state, Image of the Day
Male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island one weekend in April 2008.
Image: Eva Gerdts, 2008 [larger view].
tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Image of the Day
Male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island this past weekend.
Image: Eva Gerdts, April 2008 [larger view].
Cute photo. Any idea why she is sticking out her tongue? Is she snagging insects as they fly by?
Pretty! I'm a little surprised to see such bright colours on a female.
My personal theory for the tongue: she's panting. I remember watching nesting seagulls last summer, and the incubating parents had their beaks slightly open. Since birds don't sweat (uh, do they?), I figure they were panting.
It seemed to me that seagulls are very sensitive to overheating; chicks avoided direct sunlight as much as possible, and adults are always cooled by water or breezes when flying. Maybe hummingbirds are the same way? Do their wings keep them cool?
I enjoy the avian photos and only wish they were in a slightly smaller format for the two or three of us who still have dial-up. Loading takes more than a minute.
I noticed the tongue sticking out too. Not a clue why she's sticking it out. AFAIK the only thing they eat is nectar.
Something just occurred to me. Maybe she's razzing the paparazzi. :-)
not sure why she's sticking her tongue out, but .. hummingbirds eat insects and spiders as well as nectar (and tree sap when it's available) especially when raising chickies.
Maybe she's razzing the paparazzi.
:)
In response to questions this photo has raised:
* The unusually large amounts of red iridescence in the gorget and crown of this bird likely represent a combination of good genes (some females start out with more gorget iridescence than others) and maturity (the number of iridescent gorget feathers in females has a tendency to increase with age [Jones 1993]).
* Hummingbirds pant like other birds, and overheating is unlikely to be an issue in this bird's location. Though the impertinent nature of the Trochiliformes lends credence to the razzing hypothesis, a more parsimonious explanation is that she's cleaning her tongue of nectar residue.
* Hummers are enthusiastic predators, striking terror into the hearts of gnats, fruit flies, aphids, spiders, and other small invertebrates.
HI:
I got this from hummingbird expert Sheri Williamson:
That's tongue-cleaning behavior - she must have recently had a sip of the sweet
stuff. Hot hummers pant just like other birds, and in any case I doubt she's
feeling overly warm on Bainbridge Island.