Ruby-throats do the same thing, of course, at a point several grams lighter.
Above 4-4.5 g or so, according to sex, most struggle to gain altitude until
they add some airspeed in a shallow dive. In Rockport 3 weeks ago, nearly every
RTHU weighed between 4 and 5.7 grams. Few were able to climb sharply upon
release.
What's amusing to me is a hummer--typically a HY bird--that is already so fat
that one last drink at the feeder pushes it over its airworthiness limit, so it
glides right into the lawn and sits there until it is rescued or excretes
enough excess baggage to launch again. I once had to fetch a grounded HY
female; I don't recall her exact weight, but it was over 6.5 grams including
the full crop.
I'll bet I'm not the only bander who makes a little game of guessing a pudgy
bird's weight by the way it feels at first grasp. Squooshy!
Lanny Chambers
Fenton, MO
lanny@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Oct 9, 2016, at 16:33, iprhummers@xxxxxxx wrote:Humband is a private forum restricted solely to licensed hummingbird banders.
When we had finished recording all the data, we put the bird in hand and as
it took off it dropped slightly before it gained altitude.
