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home: www.rubythroat.org |
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home: www.rubythroat.org |
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1. Doesn't capturing and banding hummingbirds stress them out or hurt them?
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All text & photos © Bill Hilton Jr. |
Hummingbird banders are constantly thinking about the birds' welfare as they capture and band them. In the banding process, we borrow a bird from nature for a few minutes, but the scientific knowledge that is gained is invaluable as we try to understand hummingbirds and how to protect them and their habitats. The band itself is tiny and does not hamper the bird's lifestyle; it weighs about as much compared to the hummingbird as your wristwatch does to you. Usually, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) in the hand will even drink sugar water from a feeder, indicating that its stress level must not be very high. A released bird frequently will return within a few minutes to the same trap where it was caught--something a stressed bird is not likely to do. |
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