The Nation - News from Sept. 14, 1986
A hummingbird tagged by naturalists in 1976 turned up in Gothic, Colo., and scientists said it is at least 11 years old--more than double the life expectancy for the species. The National Geographic Society announced in Washington that the bird, a female Selasphorus platycercus , or broad-tailed hummingbird, is the oldest known hummingbird in North America. The tiny, nectar-sipping birds seldom live longer than five years. University of Arizona ecologist William A. Calder, whose work is sponsored by the society, said that age 11 for a hummingbird is equivalent to 39 years for a goose, and the oldest known Canada goose lived just 24 years.
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