John E. Kennedy III, age 12, of Chipita Park, Colo., for his question:
HOW DOES A HUMMINGBIRD SELECT HIS MATE?
A hummingbird's wings have great power, and can beat faster than any other bird. There is no sound heard when the broad tailed hummingbird hovers in flight with his wings beating 55 times a second. A distinct hum is audible when the speed rises to 75 beats per second as he moves off in level flight. During his mating zoom, there's a roar as the wings vibrate at 200 beats per second.
Hummingbirds are the Western Hemisphere's most colorful flying creatures. The males are blessed with brilliant feathers that are dazzling in their iridescent shades.
The family has 319 different species, most of them found in South America and the West Indies. Around 50 different types can be found in North America.
When it is time to mate, Mother Nature has provided the magic necessary to bring the same variety of male and female together.
The usual mating pattern is for the male to establish a territory which he defends bravely and ferociously against all other males of his kind. In this territory he will attract and court his mate or mates by a sensational aerial dance that is made up of swooping up and down and in wide arcs. There's a tremendous buzzing of the hummingbird's wings as he flashes his colorful feathers in a spectacular display of flying skills.
In his quick, darting flight, the hummingbird will make sudden stops and starts in complete mastery of movement in the air. He can hover motionless, move straight up or down or sideways and backwards. Lots of U shaped arcs are included in the courtship display.
Mating is usually consummated in flight, after which the male loses interest in his partner.
The female hummingbird builds a small, cup shaped nest of spider webs and plant down on top of a branch or in the fork between two branches. In the tropics she will often place the nest underneath the top of a palm leaf or on a cliff under an overhanging rock.
All species of hummingbirds lay two pure white eggs, each measuring hardly a quarter of an inch long. The female sits on the eggs during the 14 to 19 day incubation period, and then watches over the young, feeding them through the comparatively long rearing period of from 19 to 25 days.
Mother hummingbirds feed their babies by eating small insects and nectar from flowers, and then regurgitating the food down the nestlings' throats.
Hummingbirds, especially males, are quarrelsome and pugnacious. In his nesting grounds, the male will attack any other male that trespasses, regardless of its size.