Okay okay, so that wasn't nice to tease you. I didn't find the actual living breathing humming little black guy in my garden. But I did find him in the new book I got "A photographic Guide to Birds in Israel" (my English translation of the Hebrew title). The hummingbird we have here (which as it turns out isn't actually a hummingbird, but rather a sunbird....very similar but not the same) is this one:
Nectarinia osea
or his newer scientific name:
Cinnyris oseus
Quote from another online source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectariniidae : "The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time....." (click the link if you want to learn more about sunbirds)
The one I recently saw IS very very black like I thought he was, but he does have sparkly dark blue/purple bits around his brest and neck. And the underside of his wings are white (or grey...hard to tell in the photo since his wings are in motion). In any case, let's see how well I can translate this Hebrew description of him:
The male is completely black, but his head and back shine translucent green in certain light; his neck and chest shine blue/purple. The female is brown/grey, darker on her back and lighter on her tummy. Black tail. Chicks look like the female.
The body is c. 10.5cm long and the adult weighs c. 8 grams.
The bird's origins are tropical Africa and it is not related to the Colibri of South America. Before the 20th century, his home was limited to the desert, but now he is found throughout the country, both in ciites and in rural areas.
Other online sources (one, an ornithologist specializing in sunbirds and hummingbirds) says that the adults are only 6 grams. In any case, they are tiny. LOL
Wanna see a photo?
Sure ya do :-)
Here ya go:http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/spec/spec166-80.html
If I ever see one in my garden, I'll be sure to post a photo if I can get to my camera fast enough....eevn though he's not techniaclly a hummer ;-). He's awfully pretty. :-)
-Julie
edited to correct spelling errors
This message was edited Aug 29, 2004 8:56 PM
I found him! :-)
I was wondering about the birds in Israel. I went there and couldn't ID a single one but would like to start learning for when I eventually move there... next year maybe?
I did see one of these guys when I was there!
Do you think you could send me the name of the book in Hebrew?
Email on it's way CaptMicha :-)
-Julie
Now you need to find the plants he is attracted to.
That's the Tecoma alata that I bought last week :-). And since this little guy is here in winter too (although how he can stand the cold I can't imagine) my trumpet vine is an attraction too. Apparently he also likes Buddleia, Hamelia, and Abutilon as well. Now I just have to find room for those in my garden. LOL
-Julie
Have you been able to correlate a USDA climate zone with your location? You might be able to find help with that over in the Europian forum. I'm pretty sure some of them have already.
I really don't think there is a climate in the U.S. that matches us year round. We're hot and humid like Oklahoma in the summer, but without a drop of rain for 6 months or more. There are horrible heat waves that come on strong and sudden and almost always bring with them heavy heavy doses of sand and dust. Plants have a lot to put up with in our summers.
And then our winters are far milder with lots of rain for nearly 6 months (with many warm spells in between), and never getting colder than say 5C (41F) at night and 10C (50F)during the day.
Pretty difficult to match this up with anything in the USDA.
Now when I lived in Germany, I could easily have picked a USDA zone to fit there. But here.....can't imagine it would be possible and still be reliable.
-Julie
Ask about that over in Euorpean forum. I'm pretty sure you will be able to come close.