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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Racer on May 20, 2004, at 11:53:16
Yes, aside from insomnia, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, etc, we have a hummingbird feeder. My husband brought one home a week ago, and we have it hanging outside on the balcony. I can see it from here, and I see it when I'm outside for a cigarette. (No smoking in the house.) The cat seems to like it -- "his" cat, not "MINE" -- and I'm always interested, when I can be, in animal behavior.
So, I've noticed that the birds come one at a time for the most part, and that there seems to be one bird that chases others away if he/she finds another there. The others come back, but seem extra vigilant. The one who chases the others sticks around longer, and I think is bringing one other bird by now and again for a few sips. Mind you, I'm basing this identification of the "One Bird" on basic body shape. It could be that there are several birds coming by and chasing the others away. But it's got me curious about hummingbirds and territoriality.
You know, we tend to think that creatures we find attractive are pleasant critters. (My old doctor used to lecture me about keeping cats: "People think they're cute and furry, but they're PREDATORS!" Yeah, Doc, and only partially domesticated. That might be why women like them better than most men do. A symbol of the freedom and independance of our inner natures, so rarely nurtured in the outer world.) Hummingbirds are such amazing animals, I guess I think of them as being somehow 'nice' -- soft, easy going, delicate, non-aggressive, all the 'nice' attributes. It never occurred to me before to question that.
(And isn't it nice to have something outside myself to think about? Please don't ask about the rest of my life, right now.)
Posted by Phil on May 21, 2004, at 9:13:26
In reply to Are hummingbirds territorial?, posted by Racer on May 20, 2004, at 11:53:16
Racer, I worked at a retail store that had plateglass windows all the way across the front of the building. We'd watch hummingbirds fly head on into the glass. I'm pretty sure we were supposed to be working but hey, sport is sport.
In the meantime, seagulls were decorating hundreds of cars in the parking lot. Kinda like the Hitchcock movie. I was living on the Gulf Coast at the time.
Anyway, I have no answers, just Bird S. stories.
Posted by finelinebob on May 22, 2004, at 11:22:04
In reply to Are hummingbirds territorial?, posted by Racer on May 20, 2004, at 11:53:16
> So, I've noticed that the birds come one at a time for the most part, and that there seems to be one bird that chases others away if he/she finds another there. The others come back, but seem extra vigilant...
Actually, being a scientist myself, I believe I can sagely (oops! what a typo! those "f" and "g" keys are too close together!) deduce that two different events are coinciding in spacetime continuum that is your bird feeder. First of all, there is the obviously addictive nature of the "food" in the bird feeder. Very few people are aware that bird feed companies actually mix birdie hallucinogens into the feed to attract birds to feeders and keep them there. Otherwise, birds naturally (seeing as they ARE out there in "nature") find the food they need "in the wild" and would avoid the human-scented artificial feed provided for them. If it wasn't for these substances spiking the feed, bird feed companies would be out of business.
Second of all, very few people realize that birds are gifted "naive" physicists and have since their early days (sometime around the demise of dinosaurs) understood quite well the scientific dynamics of flight, fluid mechanics and related topics (that the dinosaurs had NO GRASP WHATSOEVER of physics is the TRUE reason for their demise and not some silly meteor impact is something understood by even fewer people!) and, having such knowledge, they (being birds) have an instinctive-yet-scientific understand of the concept of WIND SHEAR. This is particularly important for hummingbirds given the extreme rapidity of their wingbeats, the ridiculously large region of microturbulences those beats cause and the relation of all this to chaos theory (hummingbirds, of all avians, are particularly gifted in mathematics as well). You've heard about how the beating of a butterfly's wings can cause tsunamis half way around the world? Well, just imagine what ONE hummingbird can do by comparison, let alone the gaggle that appear at your feeder!
So, to recap:
1) The "alpha" bird you see is really just strung out way more than the others, as levels of addiction and the criminal sorts of behavior that correspond do vary by individual, and
2) The care exhibited by the less strung-out birds is due to their concern that turbulence created by previous visitors has created conditions ripe for wind shear and, as being rapidly and violently hurled to the ground can be quite painful even when doped up, they simply wish to avoid injury (wind shear being the more dangerous source of injury in this situation than the "feed-fiend") more than they wish to get their fix.Glad to be of assistance.
flbPS. Fortunately, I happen to be one of the very very VERY few people who understand all these facts at the same time. Remarkable, isn't it?
PPS. Pardon me, but, speaking of substances, I need to go take my meds....
Posted by Racer on May 22, 2004, at 14:58:50
In reply to Re: Are hummingbirds territorial?, posted by finelinebob on May 22, 2004, at 11:22:04
Posted by Racer on May 22, 2004, at 15:59:02
In reply to Re: Are hummingbirds territorial?, posted by finelinebob on May 22, 2004, at 11:22:04
Thank you. I love your explanation. I understand completely and know that it must be true.
I also know that I can't marry you, since California has this weird thing about husbands being one to a customer, but you can still join the male harem I've decided to form. So far, I'm planning to start by inviting you, SLS and Phil, so you'll be in good company. I've decided, though, to wait until you get your real estate license, so that you can sell us the property that we'll get set up on. The best part is that I've also decided to start a harem for my husband, too, which will include shar and noa and anyone else who wants to join, and they can all have harems of their own. C'mon, it'll be fun.
(I really, really enjoyed your answer.)
Posted by finelinebob on May 23, 2004, at 14:04:49
In reply to Re: Are hummingbirds territorial? » finelinebob, posted by Racer on May 22, 2004, at 15:59:02
> Thank you. I love your explanation. I understand completely and know that it must be true.
I live to serve... ;^)
(...and now for some creative use of ellipses...)
> I also know ... since California has this weird thing ... you can still join the male harem I've decided to form.... The best part is that I've also decided to start a harem for my husband, too....Yep. Definitely a California thing. 8^P
flb
This is the end of the thread.
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