Birds, Bees and Educated Fleas--An A-Z Guide to the Sexual Predilections of Animals from Aardvarks to Zebras by Bruce Montague

Author:Bruce Montague [Bruce Montague]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784182298
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

HUMMINGBIRDS

These are very tiny birds. One species – the Bee Hummingbird – is only 5cm long. They can go into a state of self-induced hibernation when food is in short supply. They are the only known type of bird that can fly backwards and they get their name because of the humming sound produced by the beating of their wings. They may live for as long as 10 years.

In early spring, when a male hummingbird wants to mate (particularly an Archilochus colubris) he puts on a flying display and shows off to the ladies. He does loop-the-loops, figure-eights, and any other flights of fancy he can muster. At the same time, he squawks and sings and tempts a female to join him. Sometimes she succumbs and they can face each other in the air while hovering up and down like a couple of miniature helicopters. They have been known to mate in the air, on the ground and in trees.

For birds, the physical act of mating is a brief affair. They merely have to join their cloacae for a few seconds to transfer semen from him into her. Then he’s on his way to another courting display with a different bird. The female builds a nest for her forthcoming egg-laying event – generally two eggs, which she sits on for two weeks until they hatch.

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