Each year we have between 2 - 4 Rufous couples that use the feeders. As anyone who watches,,,, they are very territorial, seems like they spend half their day chasing each other away. They are almost fearless, I've seen them chase merlins and sharpies out of the yard. Tonight,,,, over the top aggression, never seen anything like it, closest feeder was over fifty feet away and on the opposite side of the house. One male had another male pinned to the ground,hovering about 6inches above,, throat patch displaying,,,,the last 'attack' (for lack of a better word),,,,, he hit him straight on,,,, and flipped him over. He stayed on the ground for a couple of seconds, that seemed to satisfy the aggressor and he took off. Since I was 10 feet away,,, hard to tell if there were any injuries.

Any thoughts on the level of aggression? Food shortage because of the cold and harsh spring here?
cheers
So glad to see daffodils finally blooming this year.
Holly

Rufous hummingbirds are bullies, no doubt about it. It could be that it was just being very territorial. I don't think they actually hurt each other, but you wonder. Most of it seems to be just very determined display. It could be related to the cold wet spring. I usually wait until the lone rufous I get has a couple of days at the feeder, then I let it go dry for a few days, he moves on then the others - Black Chinned, Annas and Calliope all get their chance. They don't have the same level of aggression, so it's pretty peaceful.