Gallery: Hummingbird Banding Is Like Holding Magic
Picasa 3.001Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris
Broad-billed Hummingbird, *Cynanthus latirostris*, is a native of the sky islands of Arizona. Photo courtesy [Heather Paul](http://www.flickr.com/photos/59429971@N06/5442288290/).
02A Bird in the Hand
The banders were amazingly gentle and careful with the tiny birds, although as intercontinental migrants, hummers are tougher than they look. A hummingbird heart beats 1,200 times a minute; it's a feeling I can't find words for.
03It's a Trap!
It's a Trap! Hummingbirds are captured in this spring-loaded trap. The bottom is released by a bander sitting about 10 feed away, and the birds retrieved for banding.
04bird burrito
You weigh something as tiny as a hummingbird by making a bird burrito. This is a medical scale, usually used for weighing tiny quantities of drugs by pharmacists. A large hummingbird might weigh 4 grams. The weight of the birds tells the researchers about their ability to successfully complete their long migration, as well as how well they are finding food on their migration or locally.
05hummingbird bands
Just how tiny is a hummingbird leg band? These bands are held on their posts by earring backs. The smallest leg band here is 5.4 __mm__ long. Bird Banding in the US is managed by [USGS Bird Banding Laboratory](http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/whyband.cfm), which produces and monitors bands. [Hummingbird bands](http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/manual/special.cfm) are issued only to banders who have received specialized training on banding techniques for these little birds.
06hummingbird feeder
Being weighed and handled takes time away from feeding, so all hummers banded are offered food from a feeder several times during the banding process. Hummingbirds need to eat *at least* their body weight in nectar daily, and some eat up to 14 times their body weight a day.
07data sheet
All data for the birds is recorded and entered back into an international database, as well as used in [conservation research](http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/gswhy.cfm).
08Holding Magic
I hope I've been able to convey how wonderful it was to have the chance to see these little birds up close. Thanks so much to the Hummingbird Monitoring Network for letting me participate (and tolerating my very quiet squeals of excitement).
