It is quite remarkable.
These photos were taken on a bush away from the feeder.
These are two different birds.
They each let me step, step, step, until I was right up next to them and couldn’t step any closer.
I took snap, snap, snap and then slowly backed away.
Each bird buzzed off the bush, in front of my face, preventing me from walking away.
I was dumbfounded and returned to the bush, in my original spot.
The birds returned each to the same branch.
I resumed snap, snap, snap.
The birds perfectly still.
As if posing for the shots.
Has anyone encountered such behavior in Hummingbirds?
Also did you have any idea their eyes were so large for their body?
They must have incredible eyesight.
Their eyes appear almost human-like.
They have large pupils and white areas that look like our sceleras.

I had to look them up! Here are some factoids on these amazing birds:

*They are the tiniest birds in the world.
*They have the largest brain to body ratio of any bird in the world
*Their heart rates during feeding can be as fast as 1260 beats per minute
* Their heart rates slow to 50-80 beats per minute at night, when they enter torpor.
* If they didn’t enter torpor, they would starve by morning.
* They live only in the Americas.
* They can see ultraviolet light.
* They hear and see better than us, but they cannot smell.
* They are the only bird that can fly backwards and forward.
* They can migrate up to 2000 miles twice per year.
* They can flash & subdue their iridescent colors at will.

Amazing no? Torpor might explain why the birds allowed me to get so close to them on the bush in the early evening. But it certainly wouldn’t explain why they ramped themselves up to prevent me leaving.

Just goes to show, the more you learn, the more you know how little you know!!