Baby hummingbird with appearance of dangerous caterpillar discovered in Panama
This tiny hummingbird chick, a white-necked jacobin, took on the look of a caterpillar upon hatching. It even mimicked some of caterpillar behaviors to ward off predators, researchers said.
Caterpillar-like baby hummingbird disovered in Panama
Researchers with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute discovered the baby white-necked jacobin hummingbird had unique features, making it look like a dangerous caterpillar.
A newly hatched hummingbird with a unique appearance has been discovered in a national park in Panama.
This tiny hummingbird chick, a white-necked jacobin, took on the look of a caterpillar upon hatching.
According to a news release from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Jay Falk, a U.S. National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow working at the University of Colorado - Boulder and at the STRI in Panama, has studied the white-necked jacobin species of hummingbird for 10 years, but he mostly focused on adult birds.
A white-necked jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) is photographed at the Cloud Forest of San Antonio, in the rural area of Cali, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on March 1, 2018. - With over 1,900, Colombia is the country with the largest number of bird species in the world.
(Photo by LUIS ROBAYO/AFP / Getty Images)
When Michael Castaño-Díaz, a Ph.D. student, and Sebastián Gallan Giraldo, a research assistant, both working for STRI saw a white-necked jacobin nest in Soberanía National Park with an egg inside and a momma bird keeping watch over it, they alerted Falk.
Together, they all kept watch over the nest, until a few weeks later when they noticed the egg had finally hatched.
Michael Castaño-Díaz (left) and Sebastián Gallan Giraldo (right) checking the white-necked jacobin nest in Plantation Road, Soberanía National Park, Panama.
(Michael Castaño-Díaz / FOX Weather)
Scott Taylor, Falk's advisor, was with the group when they found the baby hummingbird, and he noticed something he'd never seen before – long, fluffy feathers down its back gave the hummingbird chick the appearance of a dangerous type of caterpillar, the release said.
According to the release, the group realized this could be a new discovery, and started looking up photos of newly hatched hummingbirds to see if this had ever been seen before. They found that most hummingbird species didn't have these special characteristics when they hatch, so they knew they had something unique.
![The unique-looking newly hatched White-necked jacobin chick in its nest.]()
Image 1 of 3The unique-looking newly hatched white-necked jacobin chick in its nest. (Michael Castaño-Díaz)
![A mother White-necked Jacobin hummingbird sitting on her nest, incubating her egg.]()
Image 2 of 3A mother white-necked jacobin hummingbird sitting on her nest, incubating her egg. (Michael Castaño-Díaz)
![The newly hatched White-necked Jacobin hummingbird chick with its unusual appearance.]()
Image 3 of 3The newly hatched white-necked jacobin hummingbird chick with its unusual appearance. (Michael Castaño-Díaz)
It's possible the hummingbird was mimicking the caterpillar's appearance to ward off predators or to camouflage itself. Researchers also noticed that when a carnivorous wasp neared the chick, it proceeded to shake its head upwards, like some caterpillars do to ward off predators.
The group also noticed that the nest was covered with seeds of hairy-looking Balsa trees, further camouflaging the nest, the release said.
More research and observation will need to be done on white-necked jacobin hummingbirds to determine if all of these characteristics are unique or an evolution of the species, STRI said.