"zhanataya" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Nov 2003 00:04:15 -0600, "B & J"
bjskeff@removecox-internetcom wrote:

This is a four page site on the nest of a hummingbird. Check it out.

http://community-2.webtv.net/hotmail...mmingBirdNest/

John

John that's a great site and wonderful photography. What is the most
common reason for the hatchlings to go from two to one. Survival of
the fittest or predators?

zhan

My supposition, Zhan, is that this is a survival of the fittest situation
and not predators. Baby hummer are much too small to satisfy a predator with
one mouthful.

I apologize for not replying sooner. We returned from an eight day tour of
China, today, and the single child concept was expounded on by our three
native tour guides while we were there. It's a fascinating country, but the
value of the male is in full force. If the first child is male, the family
may have no more children. If the first child is female, they family may
have another child to try for a son, but if this child is female, the family
may have no more children. One of our guides was a third daughter, who
described herself as an illegal child. The government made it extremely
expensive for her family to educate her and penalized her family for keeping
her. BTW, she was an extremely intelligent young woman who was on her way to
Stanford on a full scholarship.

John