Is this hummingbird slow?

It’s a victory for underdogs everywhere! (And underbirds, too.)

This poor little hummingbird was getting thrown out of her nest by her brothers and sisters. They were all living in a woman’s backyard, and every day, she tried to put the little rejected baby back in the nest, only to watch her get kicked out again! She couldn’t stand to watch the poor thing die, so she brought her to Best Friends’ wildlife rehabilitation.

As it turns out, there was a reason the siblings were ejecting her from the nest. This baby hummingbird is a slow learner. It’s taking her much longer than average to learn how to fly. And she couldn’t get the hang of sticking her beak in the center of a flower-shaped feeder unless staff really put it right up to her face. Harsh as it is, sometimes baby birds can sense things like this in a sibling, and will eject them from the nest.

But this little girl is going to be just fine! It’s taking her longer, but with help from staff, she’s gradually catching up to where she should be at her age. Soon, she’ll be flying off from the sanctuary, eating from flowers and hummingbird feeders just like any other grown-up.

And if she bumps into her brothers and sisters? She can say, "Nya nya nya nya nya. You thought I couldn’t do it, but look at me now!"

Article by Elizabeth Doyle. Photos by Troy Snow.