John, You have asked some very interesting questions about the diet of over-wintering hummingbirds. This is a topic not often discussed, so is not widely understood (and I'm not an expert, but I've learned a few things over the years). Yes, hummingbirds do need protein in addition to nectar. They cannot put on body fat unless they consume protein, which is in the form of insects. Most hummingbirds consume small flying insects, captured in flight. What many don't realize is that there are insects active in our region (yes, even in northern Michigan) throughout the winter any time the temperature is above 30-degrees. I have seen swarms of "midges" in Michigan's thumb in January with temperatures right around 30. If there's a stream nearby, this will be where the hummingbird goes to find insects as the open water attracts the insects as well. Virtually every Rufous Hummingbird I've banded (and this Allen's) have settled in areas with flowing water nearby as well as a good choice of conifers which they probably prefer to roost in at night. Most hummingbirds will hold a territory at least 1/4 mile across, perhaps larger. A few years ago, in December, I caught some insects that were around a home where a Rufous Hummingbird was being seen and the catch included several micro-moths (family Microlepidoptera) which were only 2 mm long, and a tiny sap beetle about 1mm long (I forget the family name just now). Surely, there are some "bug people" on this list who could add to the potential roster of small flying insects that are active in cold weather (perhaps gnats, midges, gall wasps?). But of course when temperatures drop below 30, then these hummingbirds do become dependent on the homeowners to keep the sugar water from freezing (a 4:1 water:sugar mix freezes at about 27-degrees farenheit). Rufous Hummingbirds can (and have) survived more than two weeks straight consuming only sugar water. Most of the hummingbirds that I band late in the season have some fat reserves, and I'm sure this gets them through the cold times when insects cannot be captured. The typical pattern in Rufous Hummingbirds is to move to a secondary wintering site, sometime around the winter solstice. This pattern is most pronounced in the deep south, and along the Gulf Coast, where there are perhaps 3000-4000 overwintering Rufous Hummingbirds each year, and these movements have been well documented by banders there. Our northerly birds seem to follow this same pattern, and many of them have departed during a warm spell and likely survived to move to another locale to the south, or southwest. The Rufous Hummingbird is very well adapted to cold temperatures, as it nests in the northern Rocky Mountains at elevations of 8000 feet and more, and northward to the Alaska panhandle. These hardy birds arrive in Alaska in early April and are nesting in the southern parts of their range by early May, when it is still possible to snow at those elevations. Rufous Hummingbirds can go into torpor at night to conserve energy when it is cold. Ruby-throats can do this too, but are not as well adapted as they generally don't experience the temperature extremes that are often encountered by Rufous. As the Allen's Hummingbird is a very close relative of the Rufous, it seems likely that they'd be similarly adapted, but I don't have a lot of personal experience with the biology of Allen's. In California, the Anna's Hummingbird is probably every bit as cold-hardy as is Rufous, and there are records of Anna's from Montana in November and December (and Ohio in December)! Even desert-dwelling hummingbirds like Costa's and many Black-chinned must contend with freezing temperatures at night. So, while such things cannot be guaranteed, and there is variation (this is nature after all), there is a high probability that most of these birds linger as long as they need to (I believe they're finishing the first phase of a molt, but I still need more data), and depart when they're able, or when their hormones tell them to (does the shortest day of the year have an effect?). These birds are definitely not "destined to die in Ohio", as I've described in my blog posting last week. One immature male Rufous Hummingbird that I banded near Zanesville endured much worse conditions than we have had so far, and left that home around December 27. The next year, an adult male Rufous Hummingbird appeared at that same home and when I captured him, I verified that it was the same bird I'd banded the year before. And again he lingered into late December, enduring freezing and snow. The year after that, an adult male was seen briefly at that same yard in October, but he didn't stay that year. There are enough records in Ohio (40+) of Rufous Hummingbird, as well as varying numbers from every eastern state each and every fall to lay to rest any conception that these are genetically defective birds that are lost or off course. A small portion of the world population of Rufous Hummingbirds winters along the U.S. Gulf Coast (my best guess is 3000-4000 as stated above). Banding studies are beginning to confirm that these birds are rare but regular transients through the East on their way to their southern wintering grounds. That they can survive farther north in greater numbers is surely due to the number of feeders being kept up later, but surely these birds have been passing through for some time and not stopping? There are many questions worth studying about this phenomenon, and I hope to contribute in some small way to that understanding. Given that Allen's Hummingbird has a much smaller population than Rufous, there are fewer records of them in the East, but they have been confirmed in places like Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, Massachussetts, and now Ohio. Allen T. Chartier amazilia1(at)comcast.net Inkster, Michigan, USA ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]