Jan. 29: Looks like all is back to normal, so last update posting.
Jan. 23 - updated photo. The hummingbird tongue is a very unique and specialized tongue. Try 'Googling' it and you will find some high-speed videos that show how it actually captures nectar and liquids.
Jan. 19 - It appears he can now retract his tongue completely. You can just see a short bit of his tongue sticking out from his lower bill in the third shot. Major thaw now with rain and above freezing, which will make all hummers here happier.
Jan. 17 - We had about 8 inches of snow overnight. The boy is still coming to feeder. You can barely see his tongue against the white snow, but it still remains out about 1/4 - 1/2 inch.
A few days ago I noticed this male Anna's tongue was sticking out about twice as far as in this photo. The sad thing is that it appears he can no longer retract his tongue all the way. He seems to have no problem at the feeder and still chirps to attract females. I understand that children can have tongue-tie at birth, but no idea what happened to this hummer's tongue.
Canon EOS R6m2RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF2x lens648mmf/11.01/90s400 ISO0.0 EV
Jan. 17
Canon EOS R6m2RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF1.4x lens700mmf/13.01/60s1600 ISO+2.0 EV
Jan. 19 - before and after post-processing
Canon EOS R6m2RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF2x lens1000mmf/16.01/500s12800 ISO0.0 EV
Jan. 23 - Had to use too slow shutter speed
Canon EOS R6m2RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF2x lens1000mmf/16.01/60s3200 ISO+0.5 EV
Jan. 29
Canon EOS R6m2RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF2x lens1000mmf/16.01/8s800 ISO0.0 EV
female hoping the male will let her feed from 'his' feeder'.
Canon EOS R6m2RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF2x lens1000mmf/16.01/20s800 ISO0.0 EV
You sure have a knack for the unusual Tony. I always feel for any animal with a disease, deformity, or injury. It probably rarely ends well and there's not much they can do.
Gary
sum1sgrampa wrote:
You sure have a knack for the unusual Tony. I always feel for any animal with a disease, deformity, or injury. It probably rarely ends well and there's not much they can do.
Gary
Thanks Gary. It is always hard to get anything different nowadays with so many photos posted by so many people.
Yes, I have seen many sad cases over the years, and there is usually nothing one can do. We once had a young deer with a badly injured leg sleep on our porch during cold weather. Phoning Wildlife Dept. only resulted in a police officer coming out with a rifle to try and put down the deer. When he appeared, the deer ran into the forest on three legs. The next day I found the deer deceased in a curled up position on our property.
Great shot! The swollen tongue is likely caused by a fungal infection called "Hummer's Candidiasis." It's most often contracted at hummingbird feeders, which is why it's so important to keep them clean and change the solution out every 2-3 days so fungi can't grow in there. I'm glad he seems to be coping--hopefully he's able to fight it off!
iancampbell wrote:
Great shot! The swollen tongue is likely caused by a fungal infection called "Hummer's Candidiasis." It's most often contracted at hummingbird feeders, which is why it's so important to keep them clean and change the solution out every 2-3 days so fungi can't grow in there. I'm glad he seems to be coping--hopefully he's able to fight it off!
Thanks. Yes, I read that, but could only find that one ‘possible’ explanation. I also can’t tell if his tongue is actually swollen.
good news that he is improving. one thing you learn if you spend much time out in nature is how hardy wildlife can be. they can be remarkably adaptive and survive situations that we shake our heads at and wonder how they made it. thanks for the story and the pictures. hope the little guy continues to get back to normal.
volhoosier wrote:
good news that he is improving. one thing you learn if you spend much time out in nature is how hardy wildlife can be. they can be remarkably adaptive and survive situations that we shake our heads at and wonder how they made it. thanks for the story and the pictures. hope the little guy continues to get back to normal.
Yes, luckily this little guy looks okay now.
The hummingbird tongue is a very unique and specialized tongue. Try 'Googling' it and you will find some high-speed videos that show how it actually captures nectar and liquids.
