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Re: Cardinal/Hummer alternative hypothesis



HI . . .

I suspect that the Northern Cardinal in question was merely hungry, 
went after something in a size it thought it could could handle, and 
perhaps surprised itself by catching a hummingbird rather than a 
butterfly, dragonfly, or moth. I doubt color would have had anything 
to do with it. Regardless, protein is protein, and I'll bet that 
cardinal and/or his chicks had full crops after the encounter.

Generally, I recommend that seed feeders and hummingbird feeders be 
at least ten yards apart, not from fear of predation but just so any 
hummers that might be more timid aren't deterred by bigger birds' 
frequent visits to the seed feeder.

Lastly, I don't believe I would think any worse of cardinals because 
they once in a blue moon prey upon hummingbirds. It's all natural.

Best wishes,

BILL

**********

>Paul:
>I wanted to respond to your hypothesis.  It sounds good, however, 
>the Cardinal caught a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird that had no 
>"ruby" colored gorget.  The throat was white.
>
>By the way, I too have seen three female Cardinals attack their 
>reflected images in a mirror on three separate occasions over the 
>years.  Two of these occasions ocurred in the parking lot at 
>Everglades NP, and the third was here in Greenville, NC.
>
>-Brad Carlson
>Winterville, NC
>BradCarlson1@hotmail.com
>
>>From: "Paul Champlin" <skua99@hotmail.com>
>>To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
>>Subject: Cardinal/Hummer alternative hypothesis
>>Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 13:46:59 -0400
>>
>>Hi Folks,
>>
>>reply to capito@hotmail.com
>>
>>Not much going on bird-wise in Aiken County, SC (a solitary sandpiper on the
>>Savannah River on Sat. w/bank and rough-winged swallows)...  So I figured
>>I'd chime in on this one.
>>
>>I have often heard of male cardinals attacking anything red in defense of
>>territories. They are most famous for attacking reflections in mirrors and
>>windows, but have been known to attack red cars, signposts, mailboxes and
>>even people wearing red. I have seen red-winged blackbirds do the same and
>>we have even taken to avoiding the application of red color bands to
>>red-cockaded woodpeckers due to the potential for that small bit of red
>>causing disturbance during the breeding season. So here's my...
>>
>>Alternate hypothesis: The adult male northern cardinal, encountering a
>>bright red object during the breeding season, attacked (the hummers gorget)
>>in defense of his territory.
>>
>>The fact that the bird carried off the hummer may point in another
>>direction, but the above has pretty good potential.
>>
>>Along the lines of alternate foraging theory I remember a fish-provisioning
>>study of belted kingfishers in western Massachusetts. The researcher put out
>>tubs of minnows in hopes that the kingfishers would have an easier time
>>getting food for the chicks. Well the kingfishers didn’t have a chance.
>>American robins, red-winged blackbirds and common grackles, perching on the
>>tubs rim, ate the 50+ fish before half of a day went by. there were only 10
>>or so fishing birds.
>>
>>Yum
>>
>>Paul Champlin
>>New Ellenton, SC
>>

-- 

BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845

Please visit our web sites at http://www.hiltonpond.org and
http://www.rubythroat.org

"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset."					BHjr.