Biology
American InterContinental University
Individual Project
Unit 1
Introduction
A flash of green and red, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is eastern North America’s sole breeding hummingbird. These brilliant, tiny, precision-flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun, then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds, and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer (Unknown, n.d). Ruby-throats are intensely inquisitive and thus easily attracted to feeders, where males in particular typically display aggressive territoriality toward rival hummers, other birds, and even insects such as bees, butterflies, and sphinx moths (UnKnown, n.d).
Hypothesis
I believe that the bird was very much attracted to the vibrant color of the hat.
Prediction
If in the experiment, the ruby throated humming bird is not attracted to certain colors then I would want to know more of the circumstances of what was going on there may have been some food caught in the hat.
Controlled Experimental Method
In this experiment I have one male ruby throated humming bird and one female ruby throated humming bird. I also have an assortment of flowers, bee balm, begonia, bleeding heart, butterfly-weed, canna, cardinal flower, century plant, columbine, dahlia, delphinium, fire pink, foxglove, fuchsia, geranium, gladiolus, hollyhock, impatiens, lantana, lily, nasturtium, petunia, phlox, sage, snapdragon, spider flower, sweet William, verbena, and zinnia. On the first day of the experiment I had the flowers in separate cages, so that the birds could see them and so that I could better differential them by name and color.
The male humming bird did seem to more aggressive then the female; they both migrated to the brighter color flowers. As the experiment went on I took away some of the flowers that they seemed less interested in. they gave most of their
References: UnKnown. (n.d). HummingBirds.net . Retrieved from http://www.hummingbirds.net: http://www.hummingbirds.net/rubythroated.html Unknown. (n.d). The Cornell lab of Ornithology All about Birds. Retrieved from http://www.allaboutbirds.org: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruby-throated_hummingbird/id