Bird Watching: hummers at last, 1 by Resin

Resin wrote:
The winter distribution of Rufous Hummer (and to a lesser extent Allen's) is being influenced by feeders - increased survival of stray birds with a mutation causing them to head east instead of south, has resulted in these birds passing on their genes for eastbound migration, instead of dying.

This pic was posted a couple of years ago by someone (I forget who) on another forum, hope the original poster won't mind my copying it here. Somewhere in KY if I remember rightly. Photo 9 January 2004, temperature minus something ghastly (and it stayed all winter, came through just fine, migrating back in April sometime). Just goes to show how hardy they are, provided they have access to a reliable feeder.

Resin

Edit: Found the original thread, it's here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=11457
Yes, it was in KY. One night it came through -20°C, without trouble.


This message was edited Aug 4, 2007 8:38 PM