Like faux owl perched on buildings , the presence of hawks up in trees seems to deter nest - robber from prey on hummingbird babe and egg , according to Modern findings release inScience Advancesthis hebdomad .
Previous observations in Arizona have found that nest of black - chinned hummingbirds ( Archilochus alexandri ) are often clustered around the nest of northern goshawks ( genus Accipiter gentilis ) and Cooper ’s mortarboard ( genus Accipiter cooperii ) . However , it ’s been difficult to nail exactly how hummingbirds and hawks interact . hawk could be eating hummingbirds , but these petite , merry wench might not be deserving the effort .
Using GPS trackers over three nesting season , a squad led by Harold Greeney from theYanayacu Biological Station & Center for Creative Studiesmapped 342 hummingbird nest and 12 hawk nest to meditate snuggle blueprint and survival rate in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona . Even though the two never interact , hawks indirectly affect hummingbird natural selection .
Tiny hummingbird bollock ( pictured right ) are full of fat , protein , and Ca . And notorious nest - rob Mexican Jay ( Aphelocoma wollweberi ) are always looking to bring them back to feed their own minor . These jay are about 40 time bigger than the hummingbirds . However , there are top predators perched up in those trees . Mexican Jay forage at unlike heights above the ground to avoid being distinguish by the hawks if they ’re around . Since hawks hunt in horizontal or descending chases , the jays are much safer when they ’re at least as high or high above the priming as their piranha .
This change in foraging doings created a cone - shaped , jay - free area around and under hawks ' nests . These turned out to be safe havens . Hummingbird nest near nonoperational hawk nest lost all but 8 % of their young , Sciencereports , but those in the foeman - free zone had a 70 % success rate .
Mexican Jays are always looking to bring home hummingbird babies and egg to feed their own nestlings . Harold F. Greeney , Yanayacu Biological Station
All look-alike : Harold F. Greeney , Yanayacu Biological Station
