Torpor was something I didn't realize birds did.

Through this course i learned a lot of new information , like how they feed from sap , how they poke holes to take the nectar, how they have those shiny colours , how  they fly and a lot of other new  facts of humminbirds.

I fell in love with hummingbirds in the Colorado mountains one summer and then really got hooked when I lived in Tucson, Az.  This class expanded my knowledge of hummingbirds.  Learning detail like the mechanics of their tongue and flight was really appreciated.  Great class - thank you.

I gained a much better understanding of hummingbirds' unique adaptations for backward flight and hovering. The graphics and videos comparing the anatomy and flight mechanics of ravens and hummingbirds were especially helpful and illuminating.

I am so envious of Glenn Bartley's stunning photography. Is a copy of his photo of the Black-billed Streamertail for sale? I can't imagine being so talented (and patient) to achieve images of such superlative composition and beauty. Even though I've taken a few workshops on photography and know the basics, I'm still so slow and klutzy when wielding the camera. I'm really good at capturing backlit, blurry subjects, though, haha! Perhaps my next Bird Academy course should be the one on bird photography!

The variety of hummingbirds. I didn't realize there were so many different groups. I'm looking forward to learning more about the different groups.

Particularly enjoyed learning about their wings, their anatomy and how they work. LOTS of wonderful photos.

I've known for a long time that there is a Bee Hummingbird species, but didn't realize our western U.S. hummers are also in a group called bee hummingbirds, and that they're some of the smallest in the family! I also enjoyed learning about the diversity with the long tails and crests, and learning what makes their iridescense so much more brilliant than other birds like Common Grackles or European Starlings. Finding out that their tongues are forked was also a surprise! For some reason the fact that they can open their bills surprised me, haha.

I learned so much from this course and could name other things that surprised me; it was a fun, educative adventure!

I enjoyed learning that there are some hummingbird species where some individuals migrate and some do not.  It is fun to know we still have so much more to learn about birds, even those that we see frequently.

I learned a great deal about hummingbirds, of course. But to be honest, I think the most valuable info I got from the course was about Merlin. I didn't know about the "bird packs" and that you can use Merlin offline. Now I do!

Most memorable would have to be the way their tongues work. I also really enjoyed seeing so many beautiful photos and videos of such a wide array of the birds.

Numerous things astounded me:

*only found in western hemisphere

*skins and feathers used for fashion - yuck

*that creation on ground not seen from above until 1920

*all the beautiful pics and illustrations

*that they have tongue inside beak

*how far some species migrate

*number of species

I really enjoyed this course, in which I've learned many things. Honestly, it is hard to say which is the most memorable piece of information that I've learned so far, because there are many things. One of them would be their capacity to cool down their body temperature by around 30 degrees Celsius at night, which is absolutely crazy. I never thought that they would do something like that to survive, but when you learn that hummingbirds need to eat very frequently, otherwise they would die in a few hours, you understand why they do this.

We have Rufous and Anna's hummingbirds here on Vancouver Island - the latter in quite prolific numbers - so, before taking the course, I wasn't unfamiliar with how spectacular their colors are. Still, the photos and detailed information in this course really brought home how unearthly their beauty is. That, and the fact their tongues are so long that they have to wrap them around their skulls, really stood out for me. This was such a wonderful, uplifting course. I loved it all; even what I already knew about hummingbirds before taking the course was a joy to experience through your eyes. Thank you!

Hummingbirds and Woodpeckers are my two favorite groups of birds, and after taking both courses, it's really fascinating that both groups have tongues so long they wrap around the back of their skulls! One of the most perplexing things that I learned from this course is that hummingbirds are able to migrate over the Gulf of Mexico. Since they can't go into torpor while flying, cannot glide or ride thermals, and are usually only hours away from death when not feeding, it's amazing to me that they can make the 10+ hour journey. I will have to do more research, but theorizing that they really load up prior to taking to the open ocean to have some fat reserves available. Crazy stuff :)

I learned a lot from this course. Much is in a previous section where I compared woodpeckers to hummingbirds! I had completed the woodpecker course just prior to starting this one and so much of the information was still fresh. I went a little overboard in comparison, but it was fun and fascinating. I enjoyed every minute of looking back at both birds and was even forced to do a little outside research. It was beautifully formatted until I uploaded it - then yikes! it became messy. Still it was a great experience and I have a copy. What will stick with me about hummingbirds will be: anatomy of tongue; how hummingbirds can fly; and how iridescence works. I really like the Hummingbirds in culture section and this was also an opportunity to explore further. Thank you.

Before taking this course, I had no idea that hummingbirds could open their mouths wide and catch insects on the fly. Really enjoyed the whole experience in completing this course.

I enjoyed this course from beginning to end. At first I was a wee bit intimadated being 77 and was not sure what I was getting into! But it was a birthday gift from my daughter and she knows how I love my humming birds!, This course was fantastic and I have shared alot of it with my friends. I have learned alot and the illustrations are fantastic!!I enjoyed it so much I also received two more courses for Christmas! Thank You Cornell!

the temp of high elevation birds in torpar.

My favorite part was seeing videos and pictures of all the many, many different species of hummingbirds. It encouraged me to go see more! It was helpful to learn there's a method to add light to photography that won't overwhelm the birds - I'll have to learn more about that. I also enjoyed learning about people's connections to hummingbirds and how they've been depicted in art - I love seeing how special people's connection can be to these wonderful birds!

Honestly everything was new to me, I loved the discussion around how they hover and fly.

I had no idea there were so many gorgeous hummingbirds throughout Central and South America. I thought I was in hummingbird heaven when I went to Arizona. Now I see that was only a fraction of these beautiful birds.

I learned about the vast variety and size of different hummingbirds, how to use the merlin app.  better, some photography tricks, more about bird anatomy and lots more. Thanks!

Tooth-billed hummingbird!

How to better and more efficiently use Merlin Bird ID to find likely birds in my region or town

by date and location. Learning the shortcut was helpful, too.