I grabbed a different book, one I consider better for finding breeding information. It is "The Birder's Handbook: A field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds" by Ehrich, Dobkin & Wheye. In the section on Anna's Hummingbirds, they do not say whether the male assist in nest building or not, but does state "...male chases female to nesting area..." and also "Nest is varied; oft in oak, also vine, brush, and human-built structures; thick, well-insulated, of plant down bound with spider's silk, lined with plant down and feathers. Building continues after eggs laid; lichen added to interior."

>From this, IMHO, the male at the very least assists in the nest building, possibly getting the basic structure built for the female, and then, as stated above, chasing the female to the nesting area.

Anyone have any more info to refute my supposition from my reading? Maybe someone actually studying the little buggers?

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA

Mike Patterson <celata at pacifier.com> wrote:
I spent the morning going through my references on Anna's
Hummingbirds. There is no mention of males engaging in
nest building nor are there any courtship activities on
record that would include "giving presents".

This is probably something worth writing up a short note
over, to be put in Washington Birds or something.

You would want to include the possibility that it was probing
the cattails for insects, but if you saw it carrying off
fluff....

---- begin ----
Subject: Male Anna's Hummingbird Gathering Nesting Material?
From: "Jud Scovill"
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 07:01:17 -0800

Yesterday (2-13-05) I observed a male Anna's Hummingbird at Green Lake in North
Seattle pluck fluff from an old cat tail seed head and fly up into a nearby
evergreen tree.I assume this was nest-building material/activity because I
can't think what else it could be but both Kaufman (Lives of North American
Birds) and Sibley (The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior) state that the
nest is built by the female alone. Maybe it was preparations for Valentine's
Day.

Jud Scovill
---- end ----

--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
celata at pacifier.com

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