Hummingbird Hokey Pokey/Crokey

You put your left leg in
Your left leg out
In, out, in, out

You shake it all about
You do the hokey pokey/crokey
And you turn around
That's what it's all about

Here's an early morning shot of one of the young lads trying out his dancing skills. This may be the Red Badge of Courage guy from yesterday, but we can't see his one grown up red feather in this dance cameo. I suspect it's the darkest feather under his neck. If the light hit it just right if he turned, it would be a red shimmering feather.

Iridescent Feathers


When Shimmer? When Not?

When you look at an animal, it’s usually easy to tell what color it is, but hummingbirds can fool us! Sometimes the hummer’s throat feathers, called the gorget, shimmers with color. But other times it looks dark. 

For a long time, scientists didn’t know what made the gorgets of many male hummingbirds seem to change. But now they have an idea, thanks to special microscopes that allowed them to take a closer look at the feather structures.

Think Mirrors

Feathers are not exactly like mirrors, but they do have similar tiny plate-like structures. Light that hits them bounces back in just one direction. What you see depends on the angle of light hitting the feathers and where you are in relation to the bird. If no light is bounced back to you, the gorget will look black. If the conditions are just right, you will see brilliant red, orange, or purple, depending on what kind of hummingbird you’ve spotted!

Always a Reason

In nature, there’s always a “why” behind what you see. Brilliant gorget colors probably attract female hummingbirds and, when puffed out, help warn competitors to stay away. Hummingbirds’ iridescent feathers are an amazing natural adaptation!
www.journeynorth.org


For the Record,
This day came in humid and warm with sun arriving after a couple of showery days. The hummers are busy fighting and feeding. My flu shot arm is sore, but not as bad as other vaccines in the past. Looking forward to T having 3 days off for Labor Day Weekend.


All hands wary