[GreenFreeper]

The tiny Rufous hummingbird, such as the one seen here in Mexico City, is able to recall where and when it last dined on the sweet nectar of flowers, according to new research, proving bird brains are smarter than first

[GreenFreeper]

ECO-PING

FReepmail me to be added or removed to the ECO-PING list!

This isn't too surprising as hummingbirds often come back to the same feeders year after year.

[Sax]

"Such episodic memory was previously thought to be exclusive to humans."

Wow guess they didn't have cats or dogs. If mine kill some little critter, they check back in the same spot about 10 times a day for days on end to see if another little critter's going to appear there.

[Publius6961]

Cool

[Red Badger]

I was walking down the beach once wearing a Hawaiian shirt with big hibiscus flowers on it and a hummingbird flew up to me and "inspected" the flowers on the shirt for a few seconds before flying off to find a real meal!..........

[DoughtyOne]

I always suspected I might be part hummingbird.

[MineralMan]

Hummingbirds are cool, for sure. I have feeders out for them here in Minnesota. From the very beginning of the season, I can stand under a feeder, hold my finger out near one of the holes in the feeder, and the little guys will land on my finger and drink.

They're absolutely fearless.

Now, If I can get them to remember where I left that 3mm allen wrench...

[Deguello]

The Ruby Throat that hangs out in my backyard won't share the feeders.

He sits up in the trees and chases off any others that try to use his stations. So...a second team will come in and with one acting as a decoy, allows the other to feed and then the team trades positions.

[Horatio Gates]

Here is a visitor to my house. I was surprised he sat still for so long.

[tx_eggman]

"This shows that animals have better memories than we thought and that you don't need a large brain for some complex tasks"

This man is cetainly celebrating the news:

[Mamzelle]

We raised a baby some years back--perfect hummingbird, but even smaller found among the impatiens flowers. We had to take it in because the other hummers were so mean to the little guy--but anyone who knows hummers knows how aggressive they are.

The big impression that the baby left on me was that he was so clumsy--the birds we see are so athletic and astonishing in their clever maneuvers that it's hard to imagine them falling onto flowers, then onto the ground, and being all-around clutzy.

So we fed him on impatiens blossoms until he wasn't clumsy anymore and he flew away after a couple of days.

He was about the size of a cashew nut, and would fall into a swoon if you closed your hand about him. Scared me, because I thought he was dead, but woke up as soon light and air hit him.

[The Red Zone]

How did they ask the bird?

Could it be the bird just had a routine.

[VadeRetro]

The study found the bird, with a brain no bigger than a grain of rice and which feeds on hundreds of flowers each day, could pinpoint the location of flowers it had visited and when the bit of nectar in each would be replenished.

A clue to why Democrats don't go extinct.

[parsifal]

"Hummingbirds have superb memories of last meals"

I thought this meant after death, like a prisoner's last meal. Is this a senior moment for me?

parsy, who wonders.

[wallcrawlr]

When do these little guys start heading north again?

[manwiththehands]

... with a brain no bigger than a grain of rice ...

Has Cindy Sheehan beat.

[garyhope]

I know Hummingbirds have memories. I've had them appear at the window where the feeder usually hangs (before I put the feeder out for the season), the next Springtime from the year before.

[midwyf]

Absolutely no surprise to me. I had dozens of them in my yard when I lived in Tuba City,Arizona. When they returned in the spring, they would immediately go to the window where their feeders had hung they previous summer. I knew it was time to make some syrup.

[bvw]

Beautiful picture! Marvelous report!

How can any one remain a grumpy, frumpy, farty old Darwinian!