To prepare for what might be observed at the nest, I pointed my browser to Cornell's All About Birds. There, I found out that it is the female of the species that builds the nest, and rears the young (2 - 3 broods per year!). The males have just one role in species propagation, the precursor to which involves a spectacular dance, which I am hoping to observe.
Once again, the Cornell site made an audacious claim.
On rare occasions, bees and wasps may become impaled on the bill of an Anna's Hummingbird, causing the bird to starve to death.I checked the credits links at the bottom of the page, and couldn't find one that backed up this statement. It might have been behind the pay wall of the Birds of North America Online, but I wasn't willing to pony up the $5 to find out when I've got Google on my side.
"Anna's Hummingbirds With Hymenoptera Impaled On Bills" by Michael C. Long [1] describes two instances (with photos) of Anna's Hummingbirds with impaled insect parts stuck on their bills. The first involved a yellowjacket. The second, a bumblebee.
Body fluids from the insects and perhaps dried sugar solution from the feeder apparently "glued" the heads to the bills and the birds were unable to remove them.Both specimens, presumably with insects still stuck to the bills, are part of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum collection. Though I doubt they're on display.
References
[1] Long, Michael C. "Anna's Hummingbirds With Hymenoptera Imapled on Bills". Western Birds 24: 267-269, 1993.
