Hummingbirds Get Cozy With New Human Friends

<p>Rumble Viral</p>
<p>Rumble Viral</p>

Hummingbirds are know for being quite flighty, both literally and figuratively, so it came as quite a surprise to Mark and Annette Smith when they were able to earn the trust of several wild hummingbirds in their backyard. When the couple noticed that four juvenile hummingbirds were making frequent visits to their porch, they became fascinated by the tiny creatures.

According to their video on Rumble Viral, both Mark and Annette earned the trust of these little birds after "months of patience." The hovering hummingbirds have become comfortable enough that they will now perch on Mark or Annette's finger while sipping out of the hummingbird-feeder!

This is likely a lovely break for the little birds, as it helps them to conserve energy. Hummingbirds have the highest metabolic rate of any homeothermic animal, and as a result they are often only a few hours away from starving to death -- hence their constant feeding.

Mark started out by taking photos of the birds before moving on to capturing them on film. As he tells Rumble Viral, "They let me get so close that I can actually take handheld stills of them at manual focus with an 18-55mm lens. This inspired me to capture videos of the birds at varying speeds. A hummingbird can flap its wings at 40-80 times per second. The camera records in real time at 30 frames per second... Such a remarkable creature!"

Mark and Annette's hummingbirds seemed to enjoy their finger-perches, but in general many hummingbirds are solitary and can be a bit shy about interacting with humans. If you're curious to get a closer look at the tiny birds, you can check out how to create a perch for observing hummingbirds in your own backyard. It is important to remember to never try to catch a hummingbird, and to always be gentle if a hummingbird chooses to land on you!

Watch the full video below:

click to play video