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.

All of this course is unforgettable for me. I enjoyed it immensely and gained a lot of knowledge. Thank you for creating this course!

I enjoyed seeing the magnificent diversity of hummingbirds, especially seeing their courtship practices. I also enjoyed hearing about the dynamics of flight compared to other birds.

I sure didn't know that hummingbirds had forked tongues! That was quite a surprise! This course also inspired me to draw a hummingbird and I really loved how it turned out. Amazing course, thank you so much, Cornell!

It was interesting to hear about their anatomy and migration. I also enjoyed to lear more about the other hummingbirds species. The topic of the expendable nest was amazing. Now I will try to spot some nest. I had to cancel a birding trip to Colombia for health reason and now I feel so sad that we didn't go. We really have to look into it again. Thank you for this fantastic course.

How hummingbirds use their wings to create lift on upstrokes as well as downstrokes, and hover or fly backwards wins for me.

I learned that a hummingbird has a high body temperature of 108 (41 C.) degrees and this is one reason why they need to feed so often, to maintain that temperature. I find it even more amazing that they can lower their body temperature during torpor when their regular body temperature is so high.

I learned about their very long tongues. I had wondered if flowers produced more nectar after a Hummingbird fed and got the answer. I also didn't realize that Hummers were only in North America, silly me.  And I learned how many degrees they are able to lower body temp at night!   Wonderful course!

The feather specifications and how they fly!

I think this course is incredible! I've always had a deep passion for hummingbirds, and fortunately during two trips to Ecuador I was able to experience seeing and interacting with so many I can't even remember all the different species, although some include the Collared Inca, the Sword-Billed Hummingbird, the Long-tailed Sylph, White-necked Jacobin, and the Velvet-purple Coronet. I found it fascinating to learn more about how they survive extreme conditions, and I didn't know about torpor. It was also fascinating to me to learn more about their anatomy, such as their wings. Thank you for this amazing course that was equally engaging, fun, and educational.

Thank you very much for the course, really very good; I live in Ecuador and I can say that there are a large number of hummingbirds, especially in the western part of the Andes mountain range. Thanks to the climate, which is sunny in the mornings most of the year, spectacular photographs can be taken even just with a cell phone. In the afternoon it gets fogy and cloudy but you can still enjoy the hummingbirds. Thank you very much for the information provided in the course. Juan Pablo

Before this course, I didn't realize that hummingbirds were only in the Western Hemisphere, although I did notice the absence of them in Australia and New Zealand. There were some assumptions that I had based on North American hummingbirds that were dispelled, such as believing that all hummingbirds migrated. Additionally, this course helped me to appreciate all the ways that hummingbirds are unique throughout the world.

The most memorable piece of information I learned from this course is that hummingbirds have a tongue to help sip the nectar.  The tongue moves so fast I could not see it.  There are such beautiful movies in this piece of information on hummingbirds.  Thank you for sharing this information in this course.  Ruth