I noticed something strange from a distance on one of my feeders late this
afternoon and watched a hummer do a missed approach and fly off, so I went
out to investigate. A 4-inch Carolina Mantis (gray-brown) was perched in
prayer (no doubt for a light (2 gm) snack) atop the feeder next to one of
the ports. He(she) looked kinda' small to be anticipating overpowering a
hummer, but who knows what he(she) may have been thinking. After seeing the
photos last year of the Chinese Mantis (Mantis religiosa: green and much
larger see
http://www.1000plus.com/Hbirds/010922%20DSBG%20Praying%20Mantis%20.JPG) that
was mortally munching on a hummer clasped in its spiked forelegs, I
collected the predator onto my hand and I released him/her in the Camellias
where he/she could find more suitable prey.
My question is: Did he/she know? Had he/she landed on the feeder by
happenstance? Hmmmmmmmm.....? This is a first-ever such observation for
me. Anyone else ever see Mantids lying in wait on hummer feeders?
Cheers! 7;^)
Tomm "watsizname" Lorenzin
Mooresville (Lake Norman), NC
skytomm(at)1000plus.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's a poor sort of memory
that only works backwards. ~Lewis Carroll
...and spottily, at best. ~Tomm Lorenzin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visit me at: http://www.1000plus.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
[mailto:carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu] On Behalf Of gary
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 18:54
To: Joshua S. Rose; carolinabirds@duke.edu
Subject: Re: hummer predator
hi y'all,
hummers and cicadas are just about the same size and from a
low elevation standpoint look alot alike as they move
through/around shrubbery.
apparently cicadas are a rather tasy catch for many of our
feathered friends; i've observed cardinals snag 'em, and
often seen them "mantle" over their catch like a hawk.
cicadas have been emerging in our neighborhood of late, and a
bunch of unruly juv. hummers are chasing each other over,
under and around any standing vegetation, autos, flying
flags, human observers, etc. around. might be pretty easy to
mistake one for the other, esp. if you're hungry and have a
split-second to catch a meal.
'course, that's not to say a thrasher hasn't developed a
search image for a tiny, sugar-charged thimbleful of feathers....
>
> good grief, now i gotta police the thrashers...
>