Backyard Birdwatching and Pondering Evolution

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PsychoticEpisode

It is very dry in here today
Valued Senior Member
I have these hummingbird feeders hanging in the backyard. They're designed so that only the hummingbird can shove his beak in there and drink. Lately, about 2 or 3 times a day I've spotted an oriole trying to access the sugarwater.

I'm now more interested in the behavior of the oriole than the hummers. Do you think the oriole saw the hummers and is only mimicking them, or has this oriole learned that a reward awaits him if he can get his tongue in there far enough?

Does such behavior happen in the wild where animals learn of a new food source even though it is for the most part unattainable with their current equipment? If an animal such as the oriole passes his technique on to his fledglings and so on is there a chance over time orioles could develop longer beaks and tongues?

Another interesting thing about the little hummers. I have some vines out there that have this bell shaped flower. The hummers here can't get in deep enough to access the nectar and I've noticed that they now punch holes in the base of the bell with their beaks to get at it. Adaptation doesn't always mean modifying existing hardware to access food.
 
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one_raven said:
Absolutely.
Google: Daphne Island Finches
Click to expand...

Lo and behold, you mentioned finches and this morning I observed 3 house finches on one of the hummingbird feeders desperately trying to get at the sugarwater. Unsuccessful, they proceeded to all 4 of my feeders with what I believe, no luck. Now I have both orioles and finches trying to be like hummingbirds.

I'm not sure if the birds smell the sugarwater or if they are merely copying another bird's behavior. The finches can actually flap their wings fast enough to maintain some kind of hovering position but not for long. Its easy to see that hummingbird ancestors probably did the same until the technique and mechanics were perfected through evolution.

I know my observations are only a snapshot in time. I can conceive thousands, millions if not billions of years for changes to take place. Do you think that some people cannot properly conceptualize the aeons and it is this that leads some to speak out against evolution?
 
Do you ever think about supplying those other birds with foods they can eat as well as the hummers? It would seem the other birds are very hungry and looking for something to eat and when opportunity knocks , they are right there. Could it also be that the smell of the sugar water attracts then as well as the hummers?
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
I know my observations are only a snapshot in time. I can conceive thousands, millions if not billions of years for changes to take place. Do you think that some people cannot properly conceptualize the aeons and it is this that leads some to speak out against evolution?
Click to expand...
It happened on Daphne Island in just a few, short years.
Did you read anything on them?
They are definitive proof of natural selection.
 
cosmictraveler said:
Do you ever think about supplying those other birds with foods they can eat as well as the hummers? It would seem the other birds are very hungry and looking for something to eat and when opportunity knocks , they are right there. Could it also be that the smell of the sugar water attracts then as well as the hummers?
Click to expand...

I feed them all lots of seeds. Although I will say the oriole does not come in for seeds, only to the hummingbird feeder. Interesting creatures to observe and I can appreciate the efforts ornithologists and others who spend considerable hours documenting their behavior. The most common birds are red wing blackbirds, starlings, cowbirds, finches and sparrows. Once in a while something different shows up. My home is close to the Niagara River which is a stop for many migrating birds year round. I find it very therapeutic to watch their antics which suits my sedentary summer lifestyle.

one_raven
It happened on Daphne Island in just a few, short years.
Did you read anything on them?
They are definitive proof of natural selection
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I read some of the stuff you recommended....great scientific research and so detailed and done so professionally as not to affect the results.

I think I saw a documentary a few years ago about Hawaiian birds and how one species, can't remember which, developed different bills for the different islands and respective food sources. Sorry I never googled to confirm.
 
One thing I pondered over Humming birds while I was visiting my father last year was the fact that he was creating his own Sugar water just with sugar, water and food colouring. I realised that perhaps sugar isn't the best thing for the humming birds since there might be a potential of diabetes (obvious speculation) and that possibly "honey" was a better alternative. Unfortunately my father didn't have any bee hives so I wasn't able to test out if they like it more or not.
 
I don't think hummingbirds have the same challenges as we do with things like diabetes. Most diabetes related challenges are due to taking glucose and converting it to glycogen and vice-versa -- but I would imagine that pretty much all of the glucose they take in will go to powering their wings.
 
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