animaux writes:

On 18 Mar 2003 05:27:52 GMT, (DGiunti) wrote:


If they are really prolific fuscias could attract, but I have no personal
experience with them. The honeysuckle is a major attraction to them
however.
Often I would see a couple of hummers in attendance to the vine at one time.

The males bark to drive others away and sort of claim the territory, at
least
for the common variety that came by my yard. The first time you hear that
bark, you really wonder what in the heck is making that loud noise, then you
notice the humm, and then the hummer, and realize it's doing that!

Just for clarity, the noise hummingbirds make is called a trill, not a bark.
I love
when they go trilling all over the garden! So much fun to watch.

As a musician I dispute your attempt to purloin that word for that sound...
at least the California version does not vary in pitch. And a Trill is the
rapid variation of two pitches. What ours actually sounds like is a very close
microphoning of a Champaign cork popping out of the bottle. I may have started
the fad out here of calling it a Bark, but lots of other birders use it too.

I mostly agree with you about the cheerfulness of the sound, but when you
hear more than one of them sounding, it's often a battle. Usually one retreats
for a short while and then returns later to slurp up some nectar. But with
that bank of honeysuckle there was always some available later.


David Giunti email: unity
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