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Monday, September 2, 2013

A Strange Creature


It didn't look like any butterfly or moth I'd ever seen but there it was, poking at the flowers with a strange-looking hooked nose. Was it some weird mutant flown in from lands beyond? In fact, I almost thought it was a hummingbird, of which we have a few in summer, buzzing around briskly like tiny helicopters. But it was much too small, of course.
  Then I happened to be looking at the Hummingbird page in my new Birds of New York Field Guide (by Stan Tekiela). And in the section called "Compare", it said as follows:  "No other bird is as tiny. The Sphinx Moth also hovers at flowers but has clear wings and a mouth part  that looks like a straw which coils up when not at flowers. Doesn't hum in flight, moves much slower than the Hummingbird and can be approached. "  Sounds just the chap. Golly, thanks, Stan! Nice to know my mind is not yet completely addled.

3 comments:

  1. I was just reading that this is becoming more common in the UK and is causing a great deal of confusion.

    http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/watchingbirds/identify/hummingbirdhawkmoth/

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  2. I meant to say a similar moth is in the UK, not this exact same moth and causes confusion.

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  3. The hummingbird moths are among my favorite tiny creatures. Exquisite! ~ Rosemary in Ohio

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