Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 15:20:18 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gail Frantz Subject: Re: Hummer display & breeding activity MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 5/17/2002 8:34:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time, fshaffer@MNCPPC.STATE.MD.US writes: > The following is an explanation of the pendulum swing that I always believed to be a precursor of mating. Bob Sargent, hummer bander writes: Dive displays, in my opinion, are aggression displays in Ruby-throated. Most literature describes such displays as breeding displays. Although when performed by an adult male on an adult female, these displays can shift to the breeding SHUTTLE DISPLAY, that is not often the case. I would urge great caution in investigating all hummer species and their displays.. In the spring the "U" display you mentioned can start out as aggressive but if the (usually) hidden female appears willing, the display may turn into a mating shuttle. The mating shuttle is a short, horizontal line (15"-18" long), slightly curved up at each end. The male flies frantically back & forth about 15"-18" from the ground. Interesting to note that the distance from the shuttle to the ground & from the female to the male is comparable. Copulation at the end of the display is rarely seen. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird... Gail Frantz Old Hanover Rd Reisterstown, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================