The Death of a Hummingbird
In the struggle for existence, here’s a loser. Or so it would seem. I found this Costa’s Hummingbird on Saturday, already gone, in the riparian zone along the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona.
So how did he die?
To be sure, hummingbirds take nectar. Lots of it. And during my trip to the deserts of the Southwest, Costa’s Hummingbirds were nectaring on most anything flowering (including that ocotillo pictured here). Costa’s Hummingbird will drink from the tiny flowers of desert lavender or the giants of saguaro cactus — and lots in between. But hummingbirds also eat invertebrates, including small flies that they nab on the wing or spiders they glean from vegetation.
Nectar is now scarce in the desert of Arizona and California, owing to a drought that has left the Sonoran desert even more parched and sparse than is normal this time of year. So I suspect hummingbirds here may be turning more to invertebrates, particularly during the demands of the breeding season, which has already begun.
Perhaps a spider on that stem led to this hummer’s death. An errant or aggressive poke at the prey might have caused the Costa’s to pierce the stem of that wetland plant — a plunge from which it could not escape, and which resulted in a broken bill tip (I think he’s hanging by his tongue). Although you can’t see it in this image, purple scales from the Costa’s gorget were stuck to one of his talons, suggesting a struggle to escape.
A troubling image, to be sure. It’s probably the first I’ve ever seen of a hummingbird’s actual death — even if it appears to be an unusual demise. Most hummingbird mortality probably happens in the nest, unseen by us, where eggs and nestling are eaten by predators or washed away in heavy rains. Yet in the struggle for existence, and in evolution by means of natural selection, this particular Costa’s Hummingbird might, in addition to his photo op, have left behind a legacy: progeny.
Costa’s, like many hummingbirds, are indiscriminate breeders. Males mate with many females (and females might mate with more than one male). During our trip, my pal Josh and I noticed a few hummingbirds already on nests, including Costa’s. So perhaps he wasn’t a complete loser. Maybe before he died on this stem, the Costa’s Hummingbird mated with a female — maybe more than one female. Let’s hope that his offspring are more careful than their father when it comes to poking around for food.
I’m open to other hypotheses on this photo — leave yours in the comments section.
I had two hummingbirds fighting over my feeder but the red throated male was dominant . Unfortunately two weeks later I found him dead on the ground from hitting our glass around our deck . Now there are no humming birds after a week .? Will any new ones come back and if not how can I get them ..?
Thanks
Lori
My mama hummingbird made her nest in one of my wind decorations on my deck. She had two eggs that hatched just before Easter and I was so excited watching her feed the new babies and seeing them grow and their little heads peeking out of the nest. Today I noticed a hummer on the side of the nest and thot it was mama but then she came back so the one I had seen was one of the babies and was big. Then I took another look and saw the sibling had passed away with its little head laying on the side of the nest. The suvivor is still being fed by mom but was spreading it’s wings and I know is ready to leave us. I’m so sad we lost a baby tho and don’t know what to do – should I leave it or does mom take care of taking it away? I want her to return again so am perplexed at this point. I guess nature will take it’s course. So happy to see that at least one of the offspring is healthy and ready to move on. This has been such a wonderful experience to watch and be a part of.
Be very careful when feeding humming bird. You must change the sugar water often. The heat causes the sugar to change and there tongues swell in there peaks and they starve to death.
This female hummer has been in my presence off and on all day. It’s feathers are ruffled and is flying slow. She has been perched on the same branch for over an hour without moving. I think she is dying. We have been here at our home and feed hummers for over 10 years. I think she came back here to die. I also bet she has had many babies here.
I just put out my hummingbird feeder. I can’t wait to see those beautiful birds humming around my feeder. The humming bird is the most beautiful bird I’ve ever seen. Birds of all kinds has always fascinated me.
I found a humming bird it wouldn’t fly away I gave it many chances and thought wow that’s amazing but was sure that it must be hurt u cleaned it up gently a little because it had spider Webs on the beak a legs but I didn’t realize till later but I cleaned the spider Webs and i could see his movement of the chest but now his eyes are open but no moving I think it’s dead and it’s so sad but I’m not sure at the same time not sure what to do
a dead hummingbird
is sitting on my lap,
i put it on the sun,
i washed it. covered it.
don’t know what to do with it.
i was told to put it out in a bag cover it
i called.
and put a plastic on it.
i took it out, know i am reading it is asleep.
that it will wake. i am sure it is dead.
You never sent the link.
Wow — thanks for that story, Steve. I would LOVE to see the video. Can you send a link by any chance?
I walked outside today and heard a bird’s wings fluttering violently in the leaves of an annual flowering plant on my deck. I saw a hummingbird hanging, much like the picture you took but only from a flower. I rushed to the hummingbird and picked the flower, removing pieces of it as quickly and gently as I could. The bird’s tongue had pierced the pistil of the flower, and the little beauty was stuck. I successfully got all the flower parts off the tongue, and eventually, the little bird was free but quite shaken from nearly hanging itself to death. It eventually was able to fly off. I sure hope it lives and didn’t damage its tongue or the ability to retract it! My wife took a video of most of the process except the initial rescue.
I love humming bird and it’s my favorite. I loved them as a child and I often see them now reminding me of my childhood. It was sad about how they die almost like seeing a good friend.
Thanks, Jeannette!
Phenomenal photo – great job
Thanks so much for this story, Vincent. In so many ways, hummingbirds live on the edge. They’re feisty. But cold and lack of food can really slow them down — often to the point at which you found little Miss Lizzy. And with warmth and maybe some sugar, they’re good to go again. Basically, they live life fast and short. In any event, thanks again!
Such a beautiful bird, my favorite type of bird. So painful…It is indeed to see a dead hummingbird, I never saw one like this hummer before. Your reasoning abut his death makes a lot of sense, but so do the others in the comments of this section. Long ago, about fifteen years ago, I was walking my pit-bull dog ‘Mona’, it was a milled rainy evening, and she smelled something by the sidewalk. I bent over to see what it was she was so curious about, and it was a hummingbird, all wet laying on the pavement. Mona didn’t even make an attempt to bite it, she was just smelling the tiny bird. I pick it up and noticed the little bird was still alive! I gently protected it between my hands against the cold and the rain as I headed home with Mona behind me. Once inside I showed the fallen hummingbird to my aunt, and she immediately got a small cardboard box and made a few holes on it. Next we put the little
bird in it and had to put it in another room because of our cats. We also put shredded soft paper in the box so the hummer would stay warm through the night. I prayed for the little bird to get well, so next morning, about 7:30am., we got up and went to the room to check on the hummingbird. To our surprise she was doing much better, she was trying to get out of the box! So we took the box with her inside and went near a few tall trees, then we opened the box and I said, “Little Miss Lizzy!” That’s what I named her, “Time to go out.” But she wouldn’t go, she just stood there looking at us with those tiny adorable eyes of hers. Then…all of a sudden she flew from the open box right to my face! I quickly dodged her, and soon she flew higher then those tall trees. She stood in mid air flapping her wings at an incredible speed as the sunshine illuminated her ruby throat and green neck, then she turned her tiny head towards a few flowery bushes and trees on the next block and went straight to them. Even now I still remember that beautiful hummingbird, little Miss Lizzy.
LOL Good one!
Nice documentation! Once i saw a Ruby-throated trying to attack a Bald eagle. it repeatedly try to hit it with a beak. I was worried he might get stuck in the feathers of the eagle.
How poignant. I suppose this could indeed be a bird that dies of sadness.
Don’t they simply die of sadness? Isn’t this the bird that does? Along with elephants. I might be wrong.
Wow — a clothesline! Well, despite the low odds, that does indeed support this hypothesis. Such a small target! Thanks, Patricia!
So sorry to bum you out, Christine. Nature — yep, it can bring us joy and break our hearts.
Yeah, screen mesh sizes are probably just right for insects and for trapping hummingbird bills.
Thanks, Judy. Yes, the fatal screen doors! The odds seem to remote about getting stuck in a stem in a similar way. But low odds, over the course of evolution, are a fact of nature as well. 🙂
Thanks, Bob. Great post! (I must admit that sometimes I root for the insects.”
Thanks, Josh. I think you nailed the scenario!
I think (as I believe you already inferred) that the beak pierced the fibrous plant while perhaps foraging and unfortunately when the beak retracted, the tongue did not and was entrapped in the plant fibers that closed back around the beak as it pulled back. An unfortunate way to go.
Painful image to look at. There was a great article in the NYT back in September 2017 on mantids and hummingbirds; I wrote about it in a post on my website back then:
http://www.arbotopia.com/2017/09/
Many ways for a hummer to meet its end I guess.
your theory makes sense. We have a screened gazebo which has been an occasional problem with all the hummingbirds darting around. To our knowledge, none has died…but their bill goes through the screen, trapping them for a few seconds. Their wings continue beating, and they seem to either back up or otherwise remove themselves from the screen. Once there was a small amount of blood at the base of the bill, but the bird appeared ok otherwise. In your picture, it looks as if the bill went through the stem, and the stem turned brown above that point. Without knowing the density of that stem, is it possible the bird flew into it in the way it might fly into a screen house, but without the easy exit capability? It would make sense that it used its own feet against the stem, near where the bill was stuck, which might explain the scales on its talons.
A sad mystery…such a beautiful bird
Once a hummer got its beak stuck in our porch screen and died. Same deal — why? And bug hunting is all I can come up with.
This image completely bums me out.
What a bizarre photo indeed! Perhaps this hummer was fending off another male in it’s territory, and miscalculated his path. I witnessed this a few years ago on my deck here in Orange. Two males were goin’ at it, whizzing through the air in the yard like dog-fighters. The next instant I turned to see one with its beak impaled through our clothesline, fluttering madly to try to get itself unstuck. I freaked out (cuz that’s what I do when I see an animal in distress!) and screamed for the husband to DO something, and quick!!! I know the tiniest lives, with the fastest metabolisms, whether hummingbirds or mice can die quickly from the stress of the danger. Well, he rescued it and it hopefully survived with a lesson learned to pay closer attention to its flight path.