The Hummingbird Project of BC

We are a science-based project dedicated to the conservation of hummingbird populations and their habitats throughout BC

To volunteer as a citizen scientist with The Hummingbird Project of BC, contact us at hummingbird@rpbo.org.

Frequently Asked Hummingbird Questions
Hummingbird Species, Identification and Migration

How many species of hummingbirds are in the world?
There are 338 species of hummingbirds, but they are a New World species. This means that they are only found in North and South America and not on any other continents.

How many species are in BC?
Four, the Rufous, Anna's, Calliope & Black-chinned. In Victoria, we see Rufous (Selasphorus rufus) and Anna's (Calypte anna) hummingbirds at our feeders. Rufous are only here during the spring and summer, spending their winters on the U.S. Gulf coast and Mexico. Although an unusual sight fifteen years ago, Anna's are now winter regulars at many Victoria feeders. Do not worry! Feeders will not stop a bird migrating, a process that is triggered by the bird's internal clock and levels of sunshine. Anna's are with us year round and their presence at feeders has just become more obvious because their numbers are increasing locally.

How can I determine species between Rufous and Anna's?
First of all, the Anna's are considerably larger than the Rufous. Distinguishing the males is easy. They have shiny metallic feathers around their throat, called a gorget. In Rufous, these feathers are an orangey-red. In Anna's, the gorget is a fuchsia purple/pink. In addition, Anna's males have shiny feathers on the tops of their heads. The Rufous males also have a reddish wash to the belly and often, a completely red back, whereas the Anna's males are green. The females are a bit more difficult. Both females will have a few metallic gorget feathers, of the same colours as the males. The female Rufus will have a reddish wash along the sides, whereas the Anna's will be green.

Which BC hummingbirds migrate?
All except the Anna's, which overwinter locally. The Rufous has the longest migration of any bird relative to its size. They over-winter in Mexico and the Gulf states and breed from Washington state, through BC and into Alaska. The males and females migrate separately, but both show extreme fidelity to their migration routes. For example, the same bird is regularly caught at the same feeder, about the same time each year.

Hummingbird Breeding and Life Span

When do they breed?
Anna's are the second earliest bird to breed (after the Great Horned Owl), starting at the end of January. They may lay a number of clutches consecutively. The Rufous start to arrive in late March/early April and will usually only have one clutch. Breeding can continue into late May.

How many eggs get laid?
All hummingbird species lay 2 eggs. Occasionally a third egg has been seen in a nest, but these are probably unhatched eggs from a previous clutch. The female does all the work, nest building and raising the young. Eggs are often lost to predation by small mammals. The eggs take about 2 weeks to hatch, and another 2 weeks to fledge.

What does a nest look like?
Local hummingbird nests are small and cup-shaped. In the early spring, you may see hummingbirds collecting spider silk and this is for nest building. The nest is lined with spider silk, so that it can stretch and grow with the young. The outside of the nest is decorated with lichen, to make it hard for a predator (or hummingbird enthusiast) to spot.

How long do they live?
Females live longer than males (less showing off). Some hummingbirds are known to have lived 12 years, and the oldest BC birds caught by our monitoring projects have been at least 8. Unfortunately, most do not live that long, with an average age of 3-4. They die for many reasons, predation (e.g. outdoor cats are a major subsidized predator that impact many bird species), lack of food/exhaustion, being blown off course, etc.

Hummingbird Flight and Shiny Feathers

How do they get the shiny feathers?
The shiny metallic colours seen on hummingbirds are not a real colour. That is why they look black from many angles. The iridescence is structural colour. The layers of the feather barb contain platelets with tiny sacs of air, which cause different amounts of refraction of light. Depending upon the angle of light entering the feather, the additive effects of these layers will result in bright iridescence or no colour at all (black).

What is special about their flight?
Have you ever watched a hummingbird feeding at a flower? Their body seems to stay still and yet their wings are beating so fast that they blur. They manage to hover by using a sculling motion. Their main wing bones are particularly short relative to other birds, with longish bones equivalent to our hands, terminating in long wing feathers. These adaptations create a 'fixed wing' effect similar to the swifts (their closest relatives). Hummingbirds use a ball and socket-type joint at the humerus (the equivalent of our upper arm bone), which lets them rotate the wing almost 180°. This rotation allows hovering to occur in a figure of eight pattern, with wings achieving lift on both the upward and downward strokes. They can also fly forward at great speed. An Anna's hummingbird doing a dive display will be moving faster than a fighter jet!

Are hummingbirds important?
Hummingbirds are major pollinators across their range, with the migratory birds following flowering northward in the spring and southward in the fall. In some regions hummingbirds visit, their contribution may be essential to survival of the ecosystem. For an example that we all know in BC, let us consider their importance to the salmon and bears of the Great Bear Rainforest.
The hummingbird is a warm blooded pollinator and so unlike cold-blooded invertebrates, which are less active in very cold conditions, hummingbirds can withstand and function in the harsh/cold weather of early spring on the west coast. As pollinators, they can provide a certain guaranteed level of fruit set for early flowing plants like the salmonberry. These fruits are required by the resident wildlife such as bears and wolves, to sustain themselves until the salmon arrive. Salmon represent a substantial source of marine-derived nitrogen that is required for the specialized types of forest that line salmon-bearing waterways. As animals distribute fish carcasses and nitrogen-rich faeces into the forest, they fertilize the soil, maintaining the type of vegetation structure required for optimum flow and shading of the waterway, factors essential and specific for each river's salmon. So, it is likely that hummingbirds migrating all the way from Mexico, play an important role in maintaining the integrity of our coastal ecosystems.

Are any hummingbird species threatened?
Both the Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds are considered by Partners in Flight to be 'Species of Continental Concern'. This is because their numbers are declining, whether through habitat loss and increased stress or poor juvenile recruitment. Humans have modified the habitats that they migrate, over-winter and breed on. In addition, global warming will have a great effect on the flowering pattern that the birds rely on to travel up and down the continent. As we enter a warming phase, changes to water availability will impact the abundance of nectar resources, as well as the types of flora and timing of flowering. This could disrupt the wave of flowing that the hummingbirds follow and compromise their ability to migrate successfully.

Hummingbird Food

What do they eat?
Hummingbirds are nectivores. This means they drink nectar, which is a good source of energy. They also consume invertebrates such as insects and spiders, for protein. So if you see a hummingbird darting about in mid-air, they are usually catching the ‘meat’ part of dinner. On average they visit between 1000 and 2000 flowers every day. To meet the same demands, an average man would have to eat about 130 kg of hamburgers per day! Although nectar was the drink of the gods in ancient Greece, flowers only provide a simple fluid containing mainly water and sugars. Nectar is produced by flowers as a bribe to their pollinators. Flowers visited by hummingbirds usually produce nectar that is relatively weak in sugar, containing 15-25% sucrose (table sugar). In contrast, insect pollinated plants will have higher sugar concentrations and their sugars will be primarily glucose and fructose.

How does a hummingbird drink nectar?
The hummingbird laps nectar using a long tongue with a brushy tip. Nectar flows along two troughs in the tongue by a process called capillary action (this is not sucking).

Ecological Importance and Threats to Hummingbirds

Are hummingbirds important?
Hummingbirds are major pollinators across their range, with the migratory birds following flowering northward in the spring and southward in the fall. In some regions hummingbirds visit, their contribution may be essential to survival of the ecosystem. For an example that we all know in BC, let us consider their importance to the salmon and bears of the Great Bear Rainforest.

The hummingbird is a warm blooded pollinator and so unlike cold-blooded invertebrates, which are less active in very cold conditions, hummingbirds can withstand and function in the harsh/cold weather of early spring on the west coast. As pollinators, they can provide a certain guaranteed level of fruit set for early flowing plants like the salmonberry. These fruits are required by the resident wildlife such as bears and wolves, to sustain themselves until the salmon arrive. Salmon represent a substantial source of marine-derived nitrogen that is required for the specialized types of forest that line salmon-bearing waterways. As animals distribute fish carcasses and nitrogen-rich faeces into the forest, they fertilize the soil, maintaining the type of vegetation structure required for optimum flow and shading of the waterway, factors essential and specific for each river's salmon. So, it is likely that hummingbirds migrating all the way from Mexico, play an important role in maintaining the integrity of our coastal ecosystems.

Are any hummingbird species threatened?
Both the Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds are considered by Partners in Flight to be 'Species of Continental Concern'. This is because their numbers are declining, whether through habitat loss and increased stress or poor juvenile recruitment. Humans have modified the habitats that they migrate, over-winter and breed on. In addition, global warming will have a great effect on the flowering pattern that the birds rely on to travel up and down the continent. As we enter a warming phase, changes to water availability will impact the abundance of nectar resources, as well as the types of flora and timing of flowering. This could disrupt the wave of flowing that the hummingbirds follow and compromise their ability to migrate successfully.

Hummingbirds and Artificial Feeders

What nectar should be used in feeders?
The sugar provided by hummingbird plants is primarily sucrose and most ornithologists agree that the nectar in your feeders should be as close as possible to that provided by nature. The best sugar solution can be made easily. Just boil 1 cup white table sugar (sucrose) with 4 parts water for 2 min, and then fill your feeder when it has cooled. Higher sugar concentrations, although enticing to the bird (think ice cream sundaes at every meal), could cause kidney damage and being sticky, make it difficult for the bird to preen. Some scientists think that the large water volumes obtained from nectar, may be necessary to assist with cooling. Imagine how much water you would go through flying out in the heat of a mid-summers day!

What about commercial foods with red dye or a scent?
Most commercial hummingbird food products are a waste of money. Like many birds, hummingbirds can't smell and have only limited taste. Their main indicator about food is the presence of a bright colour. Many hummingbird flowers are red, which explains why feeders that mimic this natural advertisement are so successful. However, plants do not colour their nectar and it is probably best that we do not either. It is also possible that artificial colouring may harm the birds, especially in the amounts consumed from feeders. The red plastic on the feeder should be a sufficient indicator that food is available. Some commercial products add a scent. Unfortunately, the animal being attracted by that is the human, not the hummingbird.

Would other types of sugar be more 'natural'?
Absolutely not! NEVER use honey, brown sugar, icing sugar, juice or artificial sweetener!

• Honey contains sugars that are less palatable to hummingbirds. Since it also ferments rapidly when diluted in water, honey can kill the birds.
• Brown sugar contains molasses, but more importantly, it has 5X more iron than white sugar. Since iron is relatively rare in a hummingbird diet, its body hoards the metal, and it will be poisoned.
• Icing sugar contains anti-caking agents such as corn starch, which can promote fermentation.
• Juice ferments rapidly.
• Artificial sweetener does not provide the calories that a hummingbird needs to live.

What about commercial foods with protein supplements?
Hummingbirds need protein in their diet and some artificial hummingbird foods include such supplements. However, there is no reason to provide protein outside of an aviary. Artificial mixtures are prone to spoiling and birds will catch all the insects and spiders that they need. If you do want to provide protein, use fewer pesticides in your garden and set out some over ripe banana peels to attract fruit flies. Hummingbirds will appreciate the proximity of resources.

Can people do anything else to make feeders safe?
Yes, keep the feeder and the nectar clean. Look at the feeder and ask yourself, "would I drink that?". If the answer is no.....it is time to get busy. The best practice is to clean the feeder every time you refresh the nectar (every few days in summer and at least once a week in winter). Wash your feeder using normal dish soap and a brush if necessary. Strong disinfectants like bleach are best avoided.

Why is feeder cleanliness important?
Two reasons. Firstly, a feeder can be a source of disease, passed from one bird to the next, though contamination of the nectar. Secondly, although it is unlikely that a bird will feed from a dirty food supply, it is possible that dirt or fungus contamination could end up causing a blockage in the tongue.

What type of feeder is best?
It is important to choose a feeder that you can keep clean. This implies a simple design. Often the "arty" feeders are very beautiful to look at but totally impractical to use.

For more information about hummingbird migration research visit: www.hummonnet.org