Page 27 - World of Animals - Issue #31

Nearest
“In normal flight, a Environmental factors neighbours
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are not currently
hummingbird’s tiny threatened but that doesn’t mean life is without danger The ruby-throated hummingbird
wings beat around 53 Agricultural growth shares its landscape with many
The conversion of land to agricultural
other creatures
land can threaten the hummingbird’s
times per second” food source through loss of
wildflowers, a valuable source of
food and nutrition.
Deforestation
The felling of forests and the
widespread clearing of trees could
result in the hummingbird species
losing vital nesting sites and
foraging ground.
Herbicides
The mechanisms aren’t fully
understood but it has been observed
that hummingbird occurrences are
lower in areas where herbicides are Bumblebees
commonly used. Bumblebees are important pollinators
and can visit thousands of flowers
Predation per day. Their sole purpose is to
Hummingbirds may be susceptible find nectar, and in the process they
to predation from domestic cats. transfer pollen between plants.
This could be a concern for the
future, particularly as the number of
domestic cats is on the rise.

Praying mantis
Praying mantises are found in many
gardens across the US and to some
people’s surprise, there have been
reports of praying mantises capturing,
killing, and eating hummingbirds aŽer
lying in wait on hummingbird feeders.

Orb weaver
As hummingbirds are insectivorous © Corbis; FLPA; Getty; Thinkstock; The Art Agency/Peter Scott; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters; Geoff Gallice; Joe Schneid; Robert Flogaus-Faust; Katja Schulz; Louise Docker; Kevin Cole
they will consume spiders, but they
have other uses for them, too. Ruby-
throated hummingbirds have been
known to use orb weavers’ silk to
construct their walnut-sized nests.

American bullfrog
Bullfrogs are found throughout much
of the hummingbird’s range. They are
easy to spot and are typically green
with brown spots. They are nocturnal
and will spend their nights on the
lookout for a meal of insects and mice.

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