Thursday, May 7, 2009

Do Humming birds hitch a ride to the south on geese and ducks in the winter?

I heard they do this because its not possible for them to fly that far.
Answers:
No they don't hitch rides, they migrate on their own. This myth dates back to the 1300s when people already admit that big / majestic / strong birds (eagles, cranes, storks) could migrate but thought it was impossible for small birds to achieve this on their own so they thought that the only way for the little birds to make it was to hitch a ride on one of the larger birds, 3 centuries later some started to admit they could migrate themselves but the myth persists to this day, tough now the typical scenario (in North-America anyways) is hummingbirds on geese !
No, this is an old wives tales, hummingbirds fly thousands of miles on their own just fine!
Yeah the bird lady is right.
well they might but it is impossisble for them to stop flying or flapping their wings because if they do their heart rate will go down and they would probably die because of this so they might be able to hitch a ride but it will be hard for them to stay on their backs when they can't stop flapping their wings wont it.
funny idea, but no. they fly the whole way themselves.
I have heard that some species of hummers do this and for the same reason you heard, but not being an ornothologist cannot say for certain. Part of me says this doesn't make sense as hummers have a very short life-span as it is and to travel south for the winter just doesn't jive. But nature does work in mysterious ways.
No, they do not do this; they migrate just fine all on their own.
no. im doing a hummingbird study right now on ruby-throated humming birds and they fly all the way from mexico to canada within about 3 months. And they are in about NewHampishere and Vermont right now i believe.

No comments:

Post a Comment