Hummingbirds at rest are one of my all-time favourite subjects. Ever alert, they are continually raising and relaxing their iridescent feathers. The smallest turn of the head will release dazzling refracted rays of colour, while the next will turn that fiery gorget into ebony. Their exceedingly high metabolism (the highest of any vertebrate) keeps their little chests heaving rapidly, and the perpetual state of near starvation they exist in from burning off all that fuel means that they must be ever ready to drive competitors away from their precious food supply.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Hummingbirds burn so much fuel, in fact, that they must put their bodies into hibernation (or, more correctly, nocturnation) every night — a state known as torpor, in which in the heart rate slows, the body temperature drops, and the bird’s metabolism eases to as little as 5% of its daytime rate. This hypothermic state gets them through to sunup the next morning, when they can once again begin feeding.
Finding so much energy and aggression packed into such a tiny scrap of feathers is part of what makes hummingbirds so much fun to watch. Although they rarely sit still for long, they do tend to return to the same perch again and again in between feeding sessions or aerial dogfights, so one does get ample opportunity to sketch.
Nice sketches! I’ve been eyeing one in our own backyard for the past few days, thinking about how to draw/paint him. But I haven’t brought out my binoculars and I just can’t get a good enough look without them to draw any detail.
The one thing I noticed, again without binoculars, is that when he actually SAT, it seemed that it was primarily his tail feathers that twitched endlessly, as though he needed them for balance. Did you notice anything similar in your observations?
Thanks, Ken! Glad you could stop by — I’ve been following your blog for awhile now, it’s been wonderful following your progress. (BTW, if you’re after more of Nick Derry’s work, swing on over to the wildlife art forum at Birdforum.com — he posts there frequently, along with a host of other talented artist birders.)
This particular hummer didn’t seem to flick his tail feathers too much, but I’ve seen the behaviour you’re referring to while watching other hummingbirds. It seems that sitting still is not something they do well!
Hi Jo,
Thanks for the info on Nick Derry and Birdforum.com. I took a quick look but it left me a bit lost so I’ll need to go back when I have more time. And this time I’ll look for the wildlife art forum. I didn’t see that part of your post!
I’m happy to hear that you’ve been following my blog. I was initially against the new categories at NBN but they do have the advantage of letting you easily find other artists, at least if they choose Art as their category. I see that Szabi has joined so maybe it will quickly fill with some good artists. It looks to me like it will be a good thing.
I hope to do my own hummer drawings soon, though with some trepidation!
Finally found the wildlife art forum. Nick’s work there is extraordinarily good!
Agreed — one of these days I’ve got to scrape some money together and snag one of those originals I’ve been salivating over, at least while I can still afford the Derry signature that comes with them!
…lovely narration and wonderful sketches. You can capture their heart and soul so quickly!