Someone once said that a hummingbird's vocabulary is 90% swear-words. If you've ever listened to a pair of them vying for possession of the feeder, you'd have to think that was an underestimate. They buzz at each other or utter a series of sharp "czip-czip-czips" which clearly aren't polite language. Boys and girls are equally coarse in their speech. Why, this young miss was saying words which would make a staff sergeant blush!
365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Mrs. Rufous H. Bird
Someone once said that a hummingbird's vocabulary is 90% swear-words. If you've ever listened to a pair of them vying for possession of the feeder, you'd have to think that was an underestimate. They buzz at each other or utter a series of sharp "czip-czip-czips" which clearly aren't polite language. Boys and girls are equally coarse in their speech. Why, this young miss was saying words which would make a staff sergeant blush!
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I must admit--I didn't know they "talked." I thought it was the sound of their wings I hear. They are certainly aggressive. It's a good thing they aren't bigger.
ReplyDeleteAnd a contorted filbert--who knows such things? I'm a bit in awe.
Listen very carefully for tiny little "czip-czip" cheeps. Li'l hummer isn't very big, so he doesn't have a huge voice. It's not much louder than the whirr of their wings. Contorted filbert, aka Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, is a domestic variety of hazel, and perfect habitat for little birds because they can zip in and out of the branches. A larger hawk can't navigate the tangle.
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