It's not just Rufous Hummingbirds; Calliope and Black-chinned Hummers will
also defend feeders against all other hummers but not bees. While living in
our field station in northeastern Washington, I put several feeders around
the house. The "preferred" feeder is quickly claimed by a Rufous male.
But, eventually, it is found by a male Black-chinned and he drives off the
Rufous (who moved to the less-preferred feeders). However, their defense
doesn't always work. Last year, plants were late in flowering (due to a
late spring), and there were no flowers in bloom when the hummers first
arrived. On cold and rainy days, large groups of females and immature
hummers would show up togehter and overrun the feeders. The defensive male
would chase one away and another would take its place. Eventually, he would
give up the defense and just sit in the tree nearby. Fights still took
place; the feeder had only four perches and there were at least ten hummers
(of three species) at a time. After the flowers bloomed and the females
began raising families, there was less traffic at the feeder and the males
could still dominate them. The females rarely came after that.
I think that Broad-tailed and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will also
defend feeders during the breeding season, but I don't have any first-hand
experience with them. I assume most other hummers will defend food
territories as well. Does any one have experience feeding Anna's, Allen's
or Coasta's hummers in the breeding season?

Cheers
Deb

At 07:12 6/4/98 PST, Jack Bowling wrote:
>** Scott wrote -
>>
>> I have been witnessing for several weeks an all out war between an adult
>> male Rufous and an immature male Rufous at my feeders. It is not a normal
>> territorial battle that you might expect. It seems that on most occasions
>> one will wait for the other to go to the feeder. Then will make an all out
>> charge to drive to other away. Sometimes the attack will come as one
>> approaches the feeder. They always fly off into the neighbors yard, but
>> one is usually back within minutes to feed undisturbed. My theory is that
>> the immature is the son of the adult and is challenging dad for the
>> territory and mom. Any ideas out there?
>
>Just about every feeder out there in the Rufous Hummer's breeding range will
>be claimed by a territorial male at the beginning of the season. He will run
>any other bird off that gets near the feeder except any females to which he is
>attracted (hummers also leave bees alone). After he has wooed a female who
>builds a nest and lays eggs within his territory, she will drive him off after
>the eggs hatch, essentially usurping his former territory.
>
>
>
>
>--------------
>Jack Bowling
>Prince George, BC
>jbowling at direct.ca
>
>

Deb Beutler
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 644236
Washington State Univerisity
Pullman, Whitman Co., WA
dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu