O Steve--how cruel!
Could you not give us at least a hint??

Ok Its not quite what I thought but is still educational. I thought maybe this bird was in torpor which those in the know are aware sometimes hummers go into this on cold nights so they may survive. As you watch this video what you think you may be seeing is only the male trying to run the female off. I contacted a professional who told me this female is stressed with ruffled feathers and shaking, not torpor, still interesting stuff.

Here is a link that might be useful: stressed hummer

Interesting!

Considering that she did not fly off, and that she seemed to have stopped shaking a bit, and that she started to eat, after what should have been the most intimidating moment makes me wonder if she was stressed. Perhaps that is submissive hummingbird behavior?

Thanks for posting Steve!

That is an amazing video. She seems to me to be ill or injured or something---what happened to her and did she fly off okay. I have seen much larger birds in this condition(Robins, etc.) after flying into a window or being ill for whatever reason(usually I never found out).
This is certainly out of the ordinary and thanks for posting!!!

It seems she is stressed she flew off twice and came back to the exact same spot on the feeder which I thought highly unusual. But after the heavy rain hit here she flew off and didnt come back that I know of. So Im assuming shes ok.

That poor sweet angel- I hope she's okay!

That is amazing! Looks like the male tried to mate w/ her briefly.

What an amazing video, Steve! You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge of these little creatures.

What would stress a hummingbird out that it would act like that?

Are their any educational books about hummers and behavior that you have found helpful? I would love to learn more about these little garden beauties.

monica

Im afraid I cant answer your question about what would cause a hummer to be stressed as such for this is the first time I have seen a hummer act this way also. There is a bander associated with network54 hummingbird forum that has written a book on hummers that Im sure is quite informative. Nancy Newfield has been banding for some 35yrs and I have great faith in her knowledge of hummers. I believe the book costs around $20. I have not found any definitive knowledge as to why a hummer stresses out like in the vid. But attached is a nice article explaining more about the hummer condition know as "torpor". I do believe the two conditions are related in some way.

Here is a link that might be useful: torpor