~ baby hummingbirds - day 18 ~

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Today is day 18 for the baby ruby throats!

My dad has taken a lot more wonderful pictures of these little soon-to-be-flying gems,

so please enjoy his photography!

See that little hint of green on the tips of the feathers?

It seem the first hints of iridescence are appearing.

In the bird world, feather color arises in two ways.

First is pigment, and you see this in the reds of cardinals, browns of thrashers, and yellows of goldfinches.

Blues and iridescent colors are not pigments.

Instead, they are a special optical phenomenon, 

caused by the light hitting specially layered structures in the feathers.

The light is reflected in such a way that the color is only visible at certain angles.

(I'm biting my tongue to give a more scientific explanation!)

So when you see a lovely iridescent green hummingbird, or a regal bluebird,

you are only seeing the color because of their magic trick.

If the hummingbird darts in a different direction,

you may not be able to see the iridescence, and instead the bird will appear grayish.

These little babies are probably going to be leaving the nest in the next day or so!  

They look like they're ready to fly and learn about the big wide world around them.

~carrie~

~ baby hummingbirds - day 17 ~

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Today is day 17 for these sweet baby ruby-throated hummingbirds!

For reference, here they are on day 3, just 2 weeks ago!  

Isn't it incredible?

Also it's amazing that in the span of a few days,

pin feathers have been transformed into 'real' body and flight feathers.

Check out that little wing poking up!

An interesting tidbit that I learned is that the babies are considered to be 'cold-blooded' (ectothermic)

until about 10-12 days old when the pin feathers burst open into true feathers.

Being ectothermic simply means that their internal temperature

is dependent upon the temperature of the surrounding environment,

an they are unable to maintain the proper body temperature.

During these first 2 weeks, the mother must keep them warm,

often by vibrating her body and wings,

in addition to the constant feeding of insects and nectar.

After they have these true feathers, they are 'warm-blooded' (endothermic)

and able to maintain their own body heat,

so the mother doesn't sit on the nest anymore.

In fact she only visits to give them food,

in order to avoid attracting predators.

These sweet little ones should be fledging in a few days!  

~carrie~

~ baby hummingbirds - day 10-16 ~

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Once again, a huge thank you to my dad, Richard T. Jones,

for taking - and allowing me to use - all the photographs in this post!  

Day 10

Day 11
My dad observed some strange whistling-whining noises from the babies.

He said it sounded like an old-school camera flash whine.

Day 12
I see the lower baby has an eye open!  

Day 13
Beaks are rapidly developing now.

Day 13

Day 14

Day 14

Day 14

Day 14

Looking smug.  

Day 15

Still pin feathers, but look at those eyelashes!

Day 15

Day 15

Day 15

Day 15

Day 15

Day 16

My dad says that the nest is amazing.

It is flexible and he says it flexes with their breathing,

appearing to inflate and deflate.

Day 16

Day 16

Day 16

Day 16

Day 16

Hummingbird twins....did you know that hummingbirds almost always lay two eggs?

Apparently it is the optimum number, one or three is very rare.