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Any hummingbird in December in stoney Manhattan is a remarkable sight — after all, hummingbirds are such tropical-looking birds… Wait. What does that even mean, tropical-looking? Why are these traits — small, quick, vivdly-colored and gleamingly metallic — associated with warm, lush climes? In part because of hummingbirds in the first place. For native people, [...]

Yesterday I posted a blog about the mystery hummingbird located in Rogitama, Colombia. I am pleased to share some photographs of the bird that was captured by a team of Colombian ornithologists for DNA analysis. Many thanks to Roberto Chavarro, owner of Rogitama Private Nature Reserve, for keeping us updated on the progress of this [...]

Rogitama Private Nature Reserve, about 3 hours drive north of Bogota, is a true success story. Founded by Roberto Chavarro and his family in the early eighties, this little reserve has been dropped slap-bang into the birding spotlight by the recent claims of the rediscovery of the Bogota Sunangel Heliangelus zusii, a species that is [...]

It is one thing for a single hummingbird to show up at a single location in the northeastern United States in November.  In fact, it wouldn’t even be surprising to have several hummingbirds show up at several different feeders – western hummingbirds that have lost their way are becoming a more and more common occurrence of late. [...]

When Mike still lived in the Bronx, lo those many years ago, he would regularly make the run up to Yonkers, in southwestern Westchester County, to visit the Lenoir Preserve.  Though he regularly sang its praises I never took the time to visit the small park along the Hudson River. That changed this week when [...]

We’ve all heard the rough calculus equating a bird in the hand to two in the bush. One has to wonder, however, whether certain birds in hand may have even greater value. Depends on the bird, right? My contemplation of this creaky avifaunal aphorism is prompted by my recent trip to Costa Rica. Patrick O’Donnell, [...]

Ok, let’s admit that there are many people out there who think of birding as a weird and eccentric pastime. But we’re not alone. Yay. I’m overlooking Aransas Bay from Fulton Harbor as I write this. We are here to film the local HummerBird Celebration for the towns of Rockport and Fulton, Texas. Although our focal point is undoubtably [...]

What to do with this jar of nectar concentrate? In a fit of preparedness, I made a couple quarts of my special hummingbird nectar concentrate. It’s one part sugar and one part boiled water, and it’s sitting here in the refrigerator, waiting to be diluted (one cup concentrate to three cups water) and put in [...]

I photographed this amazing bird yesterday at Utuana Reserve in the South of Ecuador. Too busy to write more..  enjoy!

Let’s just start this post with the answer someone googling this info will need: You do not need to take your hummingbird feeder in on Labor Day.  It is a myth, an old wives’ tale and completely not true that if you leave your hummingbird feeder outside that you will prevent them from migrating south.  [...]

You are wandering through a tropical rainforest. It is late morning and the humidity seems to rise with every step. Life is crawling, buzzing, slithering, climbing, burrowing all around you. Brightly-colored poison dart frogs light up the dark undergrowth like mobile glow-sticks. Fantastic caterpillars, otherworldly insects, ghoulish spiders, tiny scattering creatures. All aspects of nature [...]

Amazing photographs of an albino Ruby-throated Hummingbird that has been visiting a yard in Staunton, Virginia, can be viewed here.

Not all bird species are equally spectacular. Just as we malign the little brown jobs nature churns out with such fiendish facility, we exalt the birds that bring something new and unusual to the table. And although every hummingbird is a special snowflake, some of these nectar jockeys exceed their charismatic kin through some remarkable [...]

Few living things are created perfect. But I think hummingbirds are as close to evolutionary perfection as one can get. These enchanting nectar feeders have truly mastered the art of flight like no other bird. A high metabolism and the ability to rotate their wings through 180 degrees enables these little gems to fly forward, [...]

Endemism is special. Patriotic birders from every corner of the globe proudly declare the number of endemics of their home country or secretly lament the lack thereof. So when a bird – that was previously thought to be endemic to one country – is discovered in another, patriotic birders from the former country may not [...]

Because one good hummingbird deserves another, I’d like to brighten your day, perhaps even improve your overall quality of life by introducing one of the most resplendent hummingbirds in the world. Imagine taking a quick glimpse at your hummingbird feeder and getting a good sunlit luck at one of these… Bam! You just laid eyes [...]

When I visited the highlands of Ecuador, up above the treeline in Antisana Ecological Reserve, there were several great species of birds, any of which would be the highlight for a birder on any normal day.  But the Ecuadorian Hillstar was, for me, the best bird of a day filled with best birds.  There is [...]

Hummingbirds are just way too cool.  And Ecuador just has way too many of them.  It is almost unfair that one country should be so blessed with so many species of hummingbird.  The sheer number of hummingbirds forces a bird blogger to devote multiple blog posts just to hummingbirds encountered at hummingbird feeders, an enviable [...]

After our high-elevation adventure netted us numerous new birds we headed to lower ground, but on the east slope of the Andes Mountains, an area of Ecuador we had not yet begun to explore.  We would only have two-and-a-half days on the east slope but Renato had put together an itinerary that we hoped would [...]

A few days ago, a Rufous Hummingbird was banded at a feeder of a birder near Asbury Park, NJ. Rufous/Allen’s-type hummingbirds have become an almost annual fall visitor in NJ since the mid-’90s. NJ also has multiple records of both Black-chinned Hummingbird and Calliope Hummingbird since the mid-90s. In 2005, we were even graced with [...]