Question: When was the last time you saw a flock of hummingbirds happily flittering from flower to flower, enjoying the sweet sunshine together?
We’re waiting…
Ok, we’ll readily admit that it’s a bit of a trick question, especially considering there have been very few cases of hummingbirds socializing with their own kind—beyond mating—AT ALL.
Although the buzzy birds may appear harmless enough, they’re known to be territorial and can even display brutal, territorial behaviors; hummingbirds are kind of like the beta fish of the fowl world—you don’t want to put two anywhere near each other!
Be that as it may, there has been one extraordinary video floating around the Internet which shows hummingbirds doing the one thing they are never known to do—tolerate one another.
Wild Wings Backyard Nature, a Los Angeles-based bird supply store, has actually seemed to crack the staunch hummingbird social code in an effort to bring these extraordinary creatures together.
In a statement on the company’s website, they explain that they were able to create a fountain—or ‘hummingbird bath’—based off of these special birds’ unique needs.
The Wild Wings ecology department played around with the surface area, water depth, and even the water movement until they finally came up with a space hummingbirds wanted to share—and it worked REALLY well!
In celebration of their success, the company filmed what has now become a viral video featuring a whopping 30 HUMMINGBIRDS enjoying a blissful bath together.
It’s an adorable sight, but it’s also a bit jarring; we are so used to barely catching glimpses of busy-body hummingbirds darting about, so it’s fascinating to see what they look like chilled out and relaxed.
To date, Wild Wings has made note of an amazing 29 different hummingbird species who have enjoyed relaxing baths together. It’s an impressive feat that’s quite inspirational if you think about it. If such classically ornery animals can come together and enjoy a moment of peace under the right conditions, maybe other solitary animals could, too. Just a thought!
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wild Wings has been inundated with a surfeit of order requests since posting this now famous video to their YouTube page last spring.
While they are happy to share their game-changing hummingbird bath with the world, would-be buyers need to be a bit patient. At the moment, there’s a waiting list for this hot item, but as the old adage goes: ‘Good things come to those who wait’.
Now that you know everything about this entirely unlikely hummingbird pool party, it’s time for you to see the mind-blowing footage for yourself. To watch this extraordinary display of rare bird behavior, watch the video below. We need one of those special bird baths—STAT!
We’d love to hear what you think about this thrilling hidden camera moment. Do you own one of these special hummingbird baths? If so, have you ever witnessed a similar display before? Can you name any other otherwise solitary animals who come together under favorable conditions?