Mites? on hummingbird beaks

[Barry M. OConnor]

At 10:56 AM +0100 11/14/02, B?rge Pettersson wrote:
>Dear everybody,
>On pictures taken of hummingbirds visiting feeders in Monteverde,
>Costa Rica small reddish objects can be seen on the beaks of two
>males...

These appear a bit too big to be hummingbird flower mites.  Also, the color
is a deeper red than these normally light brown mites are. - Barry

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
So many mites, so little time!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry M. OConnor
Professor & Curator             phone: (734) 763-4354
Museum of Zoology               FAX: (734) 763-4080
University of Michigan          e-mail: bmoc at umich.edu
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079  USA