Hummingbirds following hawks is a fascinating behavior that many bird enthusiasts have observed but don’t fully understand. In this article, we’ll explore the reasons why hummingbirds exhibit this behavior and what benefits they may gain from it.
Protection from Predators
One of the main reasons hummingbirds follow hawks is for protection. Hawks are powerful predators that can help keep hummingbirds safe from other animals that may try to prey on them. Larger predatory birds like hawks and falcons will aggressively defend their territory, driving away or even attacking other birds of prey and potential predators. Hummingbirds likely know this, so by traveling with a hawk they can reduce their chances of being attacked by other predatory animals.
In particular, hummingbirds may gain protection from one of their most frequent predators – large birds like crows, jays, and grackles. These birds will readily eat hummingbirds and their eggs given the chance. However, they are intimidated by the large powerful hawks and will keep their distance when a hawk is near. By sticking close to a hawk, hummingbirds can frighten off their aggressive bird predators and stay safer.
| Hummingbird Predator | Frightened Off By Hawks? |
|---|---|
| Crows | Yes |
| Jays | Yes |
| Grackles | Yes |
| Squirrels | No |
| Cats | No |
As the table shows, birds like crows, jays, and grackles are intimidated by hawks while other hummingbird predators like squirrels and cats are not. This helps explain why the presence of a hawk specifically helps keep away dangerous bird predators.
Food Source
In addition to protection, hummingbirds may follow hawks to take advantage of the food source they provide. Hawks often catch more prey than they can eat immediately, leaving leftovers behind. Hummingbirds can swoop in after the hawk has eaten its fill and pick up the remaining insects, spiders, small amphibians, and more.
This access to freshly caught leftovers gives hummingbirds an easy meal source. Rather than spending calories hunting food themselves, they allow the hawk to do the work and then reap the benefits. This helps conserve the hummingbirds’ energy so they can focus on other important activities like breeding and caring for their young.
Eating Alongside Hawks
Not only do hummingbirds eat leftovers after hawks, but they have also been observed collecting food right alongside actively hunting hawks. A 2012 study found that hummingbirds would feed on flushed and stirred up insects in areas where a hawk was hunting rodents and lizards.
Again, this allows the tiny hummingbird to take advantage of the hawks’ large size and hunting abilities. By doing so, they gain efficient access to food without expending as much of their own energy searching and hunting.
Scavenging Opportunities
Hummingbirds following hawks also gain access to potential food sources when the hawk makes a kill. In addition to eating leftovers after the hawk has fed, hummingbirds may try to steal pieces of prey away from the hawk or scavenge bits it drops or leaves behind.
Trying to directly steal fresh prey from a hawk comes with risks. However, hummingbirds are agile and persistent, so they may succeed in sneaking some morsels. Scavenging dropped pieces is safer and can provide extra nutrition.
Vultures are well known for scavenging, but hummingbirds exhibit some similar behaviors. This scavenging is riskier than simply eating leftovers, but can be rewarding for bold and watchful hummingbirds.
Carrion Feeding
Hummingbirds have also been observed feeding on dead animals – known as carrion. When a hawk kills prey and moves on after feeding, hummingbirds may come investigate the remains. They can pick maggots and insects off the carcass and may even feed directly on tiny shreds of meat.
This carrion feeding provides an excellent source of protein for hummingbirds. As with scavenging fresh kills, carrion feeding does come with risks including exposure to parasites and disease. However, the payoff of extra nutrition appears to outweigh the risks in many cases.
Gaining Insight on Food Locations
Lastly, one of the advantages hummingbirds gain from trailing hawks is knowledge. When a hawk is actively hunting an area, hummingbirds learn where food is most abundant. The hawk’s presence signals areas with lots of tasty insects, spiders, rodents, lizards, and other feast-worthy prey.
Hummingbirds can remember these productive feeding locations so they can return on their own later. By picking up on food hotspots they save energy rather than blindly searching everywhere for scarce meals.
This insight translates to survival advantage. Hummingbirds who recognize and remember top food sources will be healthier, live longer, and produce more offspring than those who don’t gain this knowledge. Over time, natural selection likely reinforces following behaviors.
Information Sharing
Hummingbirds may not just gain personal knowledge from hawk-following. They can also share information with other hummingbirds through communication. By signaling when and where they track a hawk to feeding areas, hummingbirds pass on food source data to their compatriots.
Information sharing multiplies the benefit and ensures more hummingbirds gain improved access to prey heavy areas. This makes the time invested in trailing hawks worthwhile through both personal and group knowledge gains.
Conclusion
In summary, hummingbirds gain several important advantages by following hawks. They get protection from predators that hawks frighten away. They can take advantage of food leftovers and scavenging opportunities for better access to protein. And they learn where food is most plentiful and abundant by noting hawk feeding areas.
These benefits explain why this unique cross-species strategy has evolved. Trailing hawks improves hummingbird safety, nutrition, energy efficiency, and ability to find food. Better access to food sources in turn improves hummingbird health, breeding success, and ultimately, survival.
While it may seem odd at first, observing a tiny, delicate hummingbird closely shadowing a large powerful hawk makes perfect sense when you understand the numerous benefits they gain. Nature arrives at inventive strategies through the evolutionary process, and following hawks gives hummingbirds a distinct advantage in many key areas – an advantage they are happy to take through this clever and effective technique.
