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I have seen them, but they are pretty rare(I thought they were really big bees/moths at first). I dont think there are enough of them that building a feeder would attract them.
According to all the bird experts I've known, there are still no hummingbirds in Hawai`i. Easy to mistake the hummingbird/clearwing moths (Hemaris thysbe and Amphion floridensis) for them, as they mimic hummingbird behavior, though I don't know if both species appear in the Islands.
That's what I thought. No hummingbirds. That hummingbird moth is also rare, though. Last time I saw one was over 40 yrs. ago, in the front yard up here in Wahiawa. I thought it was a hummingbird.
I'll have to ask my neighbors again. I saw a picture of the moth and it sure looks like a hummingbird. A friend that lives about 1 mile away said he saw a "hummingbird" in his strawberry guava too. I thought it was interesting that I had two sightings in one weekend.
The more I think about it, the more I think I did see a hummingbird way back then. It was no longer than a couple of inches, real tiny, was an irridescent yellow/green and had regular birdlike eyes and appeared to have feathers, not moth hair. How can I remember so clearly? I got right up to it and watched it for a couple of minutes as it flitted from flower to flower. At first I thought it was a mejiro, that little green papaya bird, but those don't hover.
Here's a page on the Sphingids of Hawaii. "Sphingids" are the family of sphinx moths, also known as hawk moths, also known as hummingbird moths. I have seen these guys from time to time, and sometimes I have run across the caterpillars and the pupae as well. They're really big, for moths!
Da Rolling Eye -- it is always possible that you really did see a hummingbird. Maybe one snuck into the islands via a cargo shipment, or maybe someone brought one in as a pet and it somehow got out. But it would only live a few years before dying of old age, and if it didn't have a mate, then it wouldn't be able to start a breeding population.
The more I think about it, the more I think I did see a hummingbird way back then. It was no longer than a couple of inches, real tiny, was an irridescent yellow/green and had regular birdlike eyes and appeared to have feathers, not moth hair. How can I remember so clearly? I got right up to it and watched it for a couple of minutes as it flitted from flower to flower. At first I thought it was a mejiro, that little green papaya bird, but those don't hover.
You'd need to get a good Hawaii bird book and do some investigation. Yellow/green is a pretty common bird color around here. Some of the upper rainforest birds do make a trilling sound like a hummingbird when they fly around, though.
I was at a friend's house in Mililani Mauka when I first saw hummingbird moths. They were hummingbird-sized. They darted. They hovered. They sucked nectar from flowers. They looked feathery. They looked in every way like hummingbirds.
But they had antennae.
Moths for sure.
But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza) GrouchyTeacher.com
Yup. Nomoah. Just 2 varieties of hummingbird moths, the Sphinx and Blackburn's Sphinx moth. Funny thing is their habitats do not include Oahu. The Hawk or Sphinx live on Kauai. Blackburn's on Maui, The Big Island and, more recently, Kahoolawe. Neat eh? Amazing what you can find online. This guy even said that the Sphinx can be mistaken for a hummingbird even when looked at in good conditions.
The pics, a couple of members so graciously provided, didn't include a nice sample of the green one I saw. This guy's page did www.birdinghawaii.co.uk/faqs2.htm.
Myth....busted!
jk, sorry can't help you on how to build a feeder, but I have no doubt you can find them for sale online or even a set of plans, if you still want to go there.
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