A ruby-throated hummingbird (also nicknamed “the hummer”) is one of the smallest birds in this huge world. With such a tiny size, a hummingbird’s survival is an even bigger challenge. With over 300 birds in its family, 51 of the hummingbird species are on the endangered species list.The ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a species of hummingbird that Michiganders are most familiar with.
The hummingbird’s taxonomic classification is as follows: its Kingdom is Animalia; its Phylum is Chordata (animals with notochords); Subphylum is Verbrata (animals spinal cord is protected) its Class is Aves (birds); its Order is Apodiformes; its Family is Trochilidae; its Genus is Archilochus; and its Species is Colubris.
(http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/ruby-throat-hummingbird)
Hummingbirds are enjoyable and amusing to watch because they have quick speeds, and they fly straight, stop fast, and fly upside down and backwards with precision. In the book North American Wildlife, Marshall Cavendish (2011) states, “A hummingbird’s wings are connected only at the shoulder joint and thus can move in all directions, allowing the bird to hover while feeding” (p.109). The flapping of their wings imitates the sound of bees, which is how they got their nickname of hummers. In the book Birds of Michigan, Ted Black and Gregory Kennedy (2003) state,” weighing as much as a nickel, a hummingbird is capable of briefly achieving speeds of up to 62 miles per hour” (p.180).
A male ruby-throated hummingbird has a brilliant, fiery red throat, kaleidoscope green back, forked tail with a gray and white underside. The females don’t have such flashy colors, lacking the red throat and their tails are blunt, w...
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...a big adventure. But, a hummingbirds’ journey for survival is an even bigger quest.
Works Cited
Black, T., Kennedy, G (2003). Birds of Michigan. (p. 180). Auburn, WA: Lone Pine Publishing.
Brooks, B. (1989). On the wing. New York, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Cavendish, M. (2011). North American Wildlife. (p. 109). New York: Marshall Cavendish Reference. DOI: www.marshallcavendish.us
Dangers to Hummingbirds (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.theworldofhummingbirds.com/dangers.php
Hainsworth R., Ph.D., Wolf, L. Ph.D. (May 1993,). Hummingbird feeding. Retrieved from http://www.hummingbirds.net/hainsworth.html
Hummingbird journey north. (n.d.)(Ecology, Q8) Retrieved from http://Hummingbirds Journey North
Ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris. (n.d.) Photo by: Lubeck, R. Retrieved from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/ruby-throat-hummingbird
A never ending struggle for survival and revelation when everything is taken away finding what is left to care for. Father Benito captured the essence of Hummingbird and the conquered fate she endured. In the end Father Benito the same priest who listened from the beginning to the end respected and with his recordings on paper the memory of Hummingbird's song will never die as his thoughts fade into the night with a final thought, “His question was answered when he reminded himself that he had captured her word on paper and that her song would live on in Anahuac forever” (Limon 217). The final though of this book validated all that Hummingbird wanted which was her story to be heard. An emotional story griped with enticing character development
In “A Caged Bird”, it is made clear that this bird has never experienced the freedom of flying with the other species or perching atop the highest building. All it has ever known is the cage in which is has been kept and fed plentifully, yet not punctually, and nurtured with the love of an owner and proper care.
In Song of the Hummingbird by Gracie Limon, It’s clear by chapter three that Father Benito and Hummingbird are starting to reach an impasse. He could no longer hold his tongue “This woman who had a way of prying out thoughts and feeling of which he was not aware”. With her story of transgression, incest and murder her sin was to be forgiven in eyes of the lord, but she wanted Father Benito words. His thoughts conflicted, so he was surprised that the words he spoke were forgiveness. At this point, Hummingbird feels ready to start the next level of her story. I liked in the dialog that it express every insecurity Father Benito went through when saying he forgives her. To me, he seems that he can no longer stand to hear more like he wants to sing
Of the birds of Arizona, the cactus wren is likely to be the most well known, as it is the state bird. The cactus wren is a very vocal bird with the white eye stripes behind each of it’s eyes. Its breast is heavily flecked with dark brown and black, whilst its tail feathers alternate between black, brown and white. Its beak also has a faint curve to it. The cactus wren makes its home in a variety of desert environments, most commonly in the foothills with all manner of scrub such as yucca, mesquite, and its namesake, cactus. One of the most numerous birds of the city is quail who tend to live in washes and bushes as they are often too heavily weighted to fly far off the ground or for long distances. The Northern mockingbird also
Even though the wings are not obvious, Morrison has forced the reader to accept them as such, just as Sethe is trying to force Paul D to accept her choice as obvious. Also, the wings belong specifically to a hummingbird, a bird with many unique characteristics. Hummingbird wings do not flap: they rotate in a figure eight direction, which is similar to the spiraling circle caused by Sethe’s interconnecting circles. Further, a hummingbird’s heart beats incredibly rapidly, as fast as Sethe’s heart when she sees the schoolteacher. Perhaps most importantly, hummingbirds beat their wings faster than any other bird, are able to fly reliably in any direction, and can hover in place.
The author provides information describing the deer population in parts of New Jersey; yet, he does not include any data regarding the population in the rest of the United States, nor does he include any sources of where this information was obtained. A reader may be more
The Song of the Hummingbird, written by Graciela Limon, is a novel telling the story of Huitzitzilin an Aztec survivor whose kingdom fell to ruin by her nation's blind reliance on God. The book features Huitzitzilin as the narrator of the story and Father Benito as a naive journalist of sorts. As the story begins, Father Benito meets Huitzitzilin while he’s taking confessions in the church. Through this transaction; Benito is told by the head of the church to take note of the history Huitzitzilin has to tell, while absolving her of her sins. As Benito begins to hear her story, his irritation and discomfort with hearing it becomes clear. He fidgets, buries his head in his hands, and at times even threatens to leave. The reasons for this comes from what Benito knows from history books and the teaching of his faith, Huitzitzilin begins to pick up on things as she tells her story. She uses this to mess with him at times and to distance him from the mindset that he’s just a tool for his god’s word. When the story draws to a conclusion, Benito sees Huitzitzilin story for what it is, he and his people are no different than hers, yet they treated them as savages.
U.S. Department of the interior, National Park Service. (2013). Endangered Species. Retrieved from website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/endangeredspecies/index.cfm
The large ground finches have a higher curve while the medium ground finches have a smaller head and a tiny beak. The place in which the finches live is what changes their appearances and also the weather helps decide the appearance of these finches.
Zartman, R. (2012, February 13). Interview by D. Housholder [Personal Interview]. Fox Island animal information , Fort Wayne, IN.
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
There are three main species of Snow Goose of primary concern. The Lesser Snow Goose (LSGO) is the must abundant and at the same time most troublesome. Ross’ Goose (ROGO) is very similar to the Lesser and can only be distinguished by close observation. Both the Lesser and the Ross nest in salt marshes along Hudson Bay and then migrate down to the gulf coast states such as Texas and Louisiana. Their populations number in the millions. The third sub species is the Greater Snow Goose. They nest in the same marshes as the others except they migrate down the Atlantic Coast into the Carolinas and that vicinity. All three species have exploded in numbers since the 1950’s. Researchers have done a lot of study on the numbers and the degradation but may need to do more studies on the impact to other species and look for other options to control the populations.
Kautz, Randy et al. How much is enough? Landscape-scale conservation for the Florida panther. Biological Conservation 2006, 130: 118-133
Mimcry is the superficial resemblance between two or more organisms which are not taxonomically related. This resemblance may be in appearance, behavior, sound, scent and even location. Some sort of vocalization is produced by most of the birds. Almost every species of bird produces some sort of vocalization. Mockingbirds are those birds that mimic the call of other birds. Australia’s amazing Lyrebird is the world’s greatest mimic which is capable of mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. They imitate other bird calls, as well as human sounds such as car alarms and camera shutters. cuckoos fool other birds – they also mimic hawks. Parrots are renowned for their deafening calls that can be heard for miles.
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.