Birds Of A Feather - Part 2
Hummingbirds are incredibly aggressive, territorial creatures. The males especially will defend their feeder and living area by physically attacking and chasing other hummingbirds. They have established their space and will do whatever is necessary to maintain it as their own. You would never suspect this antisocial behavior from a beautiful little bird. We stand mesmerized at the window while we watch their little wings and listen to their hum. We even laugh a little as they chase each other around the bushes below. What we don't often realize, though, is that the male who is doing the chasing and protecting has something very serious at stake here. His territory is filled with all the food, nesting places and room to fly that he needs. If another male were to take up residence there as well, he would be fighting for a share of the food and the attention of the females. In their world, this is completely unacceptable. To humans this seems shallow and mean. We learn from a ...