[NatureNS] hummers

From: uhoeger@dal.ca
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:58:43 -0300
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The relationship of hummer-plants and hummingbirds has established itself 
over a long period of co-evolution.  That the sugar concentration in the 
nectar of ornithophilic plants is in the 20-30% range (and different from the 
one found in insect pollinated plants) sure bears some significance for both 
the plants and the hummingbirds.  So I would just stick with the widely used 
1:4 ratio and not start some pointless experiments.

Ulli 



> This is a truly enlightening article -- if we are making the little birds work harder by providing a 
> weaker solution and if 1:1 or 1:2 is just as good, then why not? 
> 
> 
> 
> On 8/4/08, Wild Flora <herself@wildflora.com> wrote: 
>     I have been using Google and Google Scholar to try to locate a source for the 
>     often-repeated statement that sugar concentrations higher than 1:4 can cause liver 
>     damage in hummingbirds. No luck, however. Does anyone know where this idea 
>     originated?
> 
> Meanwhile, here is an interesting article from the May 1993 issue of WildBird magazine, 
> available online, that raises questions about the traditional 1:4 concentration: 
> "Hummingbird Feeding", by Reed Hainsworth, Phd, and Larry Wolf, Phd. 
> http://www.hummingbirds.net/hainsworth.html
> 
> 
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> 


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