Hummingbird Imposters (Mystery Solved)

Self | 9-20-2002 | blam

[blam]

The last three years, at this time of year, I have put out my hummingbird feeders and I presently have 12 feeders hanging around my house, each feeder has 5-6 birds around it.
I have hummingbirds everywhere.

Now, over these last three years each evening as I go out to refill the feeders I catch sight of a strange looking 'bird' that quickly disappears so fast that I began to question whether I actually saw anything. Well, three days ago I finally got a good look at one of these critters.
It is a hummingbird looking thing but a little more fluffy and maybe a little more puffy than the 'standard' hummingbirds. I went to the library and looked through all their hummingbird books and didn't anything that looked like this 'bird.' I was beginning to think that I'd discovered a new species of hummingbird. This 'thing' does not go to the hummingbird feeders but to the flowers nearby that the hummingbirds do not bother with. I don't know what the flowers are but they are shaped like trumpets and I have decided that they are to deep for the hummingbirds to reach the nectar at the bottom. Last night I went on-line and below is what I found.

"We have had numerous reports of small orange and brown or zebra-striped "hummingbirds." These are usually hawk moths (or sphinx moths). They act just like hummingbirds, but they are insects."

These critters have a 'fold up' straw that is about six inches long that they fold out (like a carpenters folding rule) and insert into these flowers and get the nectar at the bottom.

Anyway, I thought I may enlighten some other Freepers to these Hummingbird Imposters
BTW, when the hummingbirds leave here, they fly for 26 continuous hours across the Gulf Of Mexico to the Yucatan.

[blam]

Yes, I do have a lot of time on my hands. I planned it that way.

[Cagey]

I'm losing that "Tuff Guy" image I had of you, blam.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Green Mile.

[EggsAckley]

Good for you for having the time to notice and research these things. I do that kind of thing all the time, and it's very rewarding. And thanks for the info.

[rellimpank]

--I knew of them as "nighthawks" in South Dakota--

[brat]

How delightful, blam!

[deport]

And they weight the eqivalent of two dimes when they leave and only one dime when they arrive at their destination or something like that...

[swarthyguy]

Very Cool.

[blam]

Humming-Bird Hawk-Moth
Macroglossum Stellartarum

[error99]

I thought maybe you would include a link to an interesting story about some ancient civilization that worshipped hummingbirds.
I am so disappointed in you.
A moth.
Ha !

[boomop1]

I had about 4 hummingbirds, watched them for 3 months but I think they went south, I have not seen any of the critters you mentioned, I have lots of pictures of the birds.

[dennisw]

This page has a photo of a bat at a hummingbird feeder.

http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html#recipe

[Cagey]

I guess he can still be a "Tuff Guy".

[error99]

No, this is a photo of a bat at a hummingbird feeder.

[blam]

"I thought maybe you would include a link to an interesting story about some ancient civilization that worshipped hummingbirds. "

Next week, I may tell you about the "Indian Mounds' I found on my property. Will that do?

[dennisw]

Cool photo. Seems the feeders have to well designed to keep bees and wasps from dipping into the sugar water.

[Alas Babylon!]

Cool. I have those here, too. But I'm only about 100 miles Northwest of you. I thought they were hummers, but moths in the daytime???

[blam]

Don't ever give honey to the hummingbirds, it's not good for them.

[Alas Babylon!]

Actually, just ran this through the Mileage Calculator, and I was off a little bit:
The distance from Tallassee, Alabama to Mobile, Alabama is approximately 178.5 miles.

[blam]

"I thought they were hummers, but moths in the daytime???"

The earliest I've seen them around here is about 5:30pm but, usually a little later just at sundown. (The article I read on them said 'dusk'.)