Find out about humming birds!

Suddenly you see a quick flash out of the corner of your eye, zipping by you as he heads for the feeder or to settle on a branch not far away. Hovering almost effortlessly over the branch, he zips from side to side like a small helicopter coming in for a landing.

Finally he settles on the branch, his overly long beak signaling his eating preferences. As he lifts off and disappears from sight you wonder at the natural miracle that is the hummingbird.

No other bird possesses such a wide spectrum of breathtaking colors as the hummingbird; changing as you watch in a chameleon-like display. This is due to the structure of the bird's feathers. While most birds get their color from simple pigmentation, the hummingbird's shimmering color is structural. The iridescent colors of the feathers come from layers of special cells within the top layers of the feathers. Light that hits these cells is broken apart; some wavelengths reinforced and intensified, while others are nullified through interference, rather like the glass prisms you might have seen in science class years ago. A hummingbird can shift its position just a little, and what was once black will become blazing red, due to the light bouncing off the feathers at a different angle.

There are 350 species in the hummingbird family spreading through the Western Hemisphere from southern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. Most varieties live in the rain forests of Colombia and Ecuador where they can easily find the foods they need to survive in large amounts. Hummingbirds eat an average of half their body weight in sugar every day in either flower nectar or bugs and though they are small, some species migrate the 2,500 miles from Alaska to Central America every autumn and spring. You will find them in most areas in the early spring as they mate and their babies begin to spread their wings literally and find new food sources.

One great way of watching these little helicopters is to set up a feeding station. It's not only a good way to observe these birds but also to help them survive; as young birds tend to be caught up in the competitive nature of finding and keeping food sources. Most hummingbirds become protective of their feeders; chasing away other birds and insects that might feed on the sugar water; such as bees and wasps. Watching the aerial battles is interesting as the birds jockey for position and will also take on much larger birds, like finches and thrushes to protect it's food source.

The nature of the bird is such that it burns up energy in great amounts, meaning that the hummingbird must feed typically 3-5 times per hour. Feeders filled with mixtures of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water provide valuable additional calories to the hummingbirds' natural diet of flower nectar and insects. The best color for a feeder is red, with the second best being yellow (unfortunately yellow feeders sometimes tend to attract some insects). One of the best places to put feeders are near flower bushes or trellises that have ample room for the bird to perch and check out the area. Flowers provide additional camouflage for the bird as well as resting areas where he can guard his territory from a short distance away. Keep the water fresh, changing it every few days and cleaned every few weeks. Never fill your feeders with anything but sugar-water mixtures. Do not use coloring of any kind, and never use honey, for it breeds a fungus that can coat the hummingbird's tongue and eventually may cause death. Keep your feeders clean and filled and sit back as the hummingbirds come to dance for you.

Like all birds, hummingbirds migrate south for the winter at the first frost, but they will return in the spring to find your feeder again. As long as you keep the water fresh and the area bird-friendly, you can expect to see your little helicopter friends for years to come.