News, Videos & Other Webcams > Waterfowl, Seabirds & Penguins
Allen's Hummingbirds - California / Phoebe
Kinderchick:
Bob & Rose sure are getting big! :o I'd forgotten how fast they grow!
susha:
I've read somewhere on the Phoebe site that they don't ever know the genders of the babies because they fly off to establish their own territories once they've fledged and they're not banded. They pick one male name and one female one for each clutch.
Kinderchick:
MayShowers actually asked that question, Elaine, but I have to admit, I have wondered the same thing, particularly since hummingbird hatchlings are so tiny. I don't see how they could possibly identify the gender of the hatchlings. I think they just pick names and some sound like female names and some sound more like male names. :-\
Elaine L:
Kinderchick, I don't think that is a silly question. From what I have read on BCAW and other bird sites, they often get the sex of the hatchling wrong. So, I am wondering if they are just guessing, based on what, I don't know; because hummingbirds are so small, I would think you can't tell based on size, as is often the case with falcons.
MayShowers:
This is going to sound like a silly question, but how do they know the gender in order to name the hatchlings?
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