Do hummingbirds really migrate on the backs of geese?
No. It’s hard to understand how such a myth got started in the first place and why it persists. Not only do waterfowl hunters not find dead hummingbirds in the feathers of their quarry, but it’s easy to observe hummingbirds migrating on their own. While hummingbirds would certainly benefit from such an arrangement, there’s really no way it could work. Hummingbirds and geese don’t migrate at the same time or to the same places; any hitchhiking hummingbird that didn’t starve before its ride finally headed south would still have a long journey from the goose’s winter wetland home to its own safe haven in the tropics. The real story is amazing enough. Tiny though they are, hummingbirds migrate totally under their own power, following internal calendars and compasses and fueled by stored fat and whatever food they can find along the way.
