Gina Gozinsky, age 9, of Wichita, Kan., for her question:
How do hummingbirds feed their babies?
It is june and the hummers have come back again, just as they do every summer. They are the smallest birds, but there are other things about them that make them different from other birds. You watch and wonder and ask a question. And the answer leads to another hummingbird question.
The ruby throated hummingbird and his wife spend the summer and bring up their babies in and around Wichita. The papa bird is about 3 inches long. He has a thin, curved bill that measures more than a half inch. He weighs about as much as a penny.~ But his feathers glow like bright jewels. His back and sides are emerald green. His tummy is milky white, and at his throat he wears a ruby red bib. The mamma bird has a white throat instead of a ruby red one.
The nest is as big as half a walnut shell. It is fixed in the fork of two branching twigs high above the ground. You would never notice it because its brown green color blends in with the tree. The two white eggs look like a pair of navy beans, and the mamma bird keeps them warm and cozy until they hatch. The babies are as big as bumblebees and they have no feathers. Four of them could nestle in a teaspoon.
Feeding such tiny midgets is quite a job. They must have the food their parents eat, but their little tummies are not ready to digest it. So the mamma bird eats extra rations, and when it is partly digested she squirts it down the throats of the little ones. Pigeons and penguins and many other birds also feed their young on partly digested food.
The parent humers feed on sweet flower nectar and small bugs. They hover near flowery plants because this is where they find their food. The long bill of a grown up hummer is just right for gathering his groceries. Inside his bill is a long tongue like a thin tube. The humner can flick out his tongue, snatch a bug and gobble it down in a flash. He can dip his tongue into a flower and suck up the sweet nectar from its throat. When the mother feeds her babies some of this partly digested food comes up from her stomach into her mouth. She uses her long bill to squirt the formula into the mouths of her baby birds.
The papa hummer may be small, but he is not timid. His loudest voice is a mousy squeak, but he is not a coward. In fact, he is a very scrappy little character. Larger birds do not scare him away, and he will hover in the air staring you boldly in the eye. He is boldest at nesting time. He defends his midget sized family with all his brave little heart and fiercely attacks bigger birds and other animals that come near his home.