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From: tfisher@NPIRS.Purdue.EDU (Tom Fisher)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: starving hummingbirds
Message-ID: <1991Jan10.134147.21470@NPIRS.Purdue.EDU>
Date: 10 Jan 91 13:41:47 GMT
References: <1991Jan8.192604.7338@morrow.stanford.edu>
Organization: The National Pesticide Information Retrieval System, Purdue University
Lines: 15

From article <1991Jan8.192604.7338@morrow.stanford.edu>, by GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan):
  I do not reccomend using the instant nectar
> sold commercially.  It contains red dye (unnecessary and perhaps
> harmful) and sometimes other preservatives.
>

I keep seeing mention of "pehaps" or "it may be harmful" -
referring to the use of red dye or food coloring in sugar water
for hummers.  Does anyone know for a "fact" that this is harmful?
I've been using trace amts (enough to color the solution "pink")
for years and I've yet to find a dead hummer around my place.
And we have lots of the little fellows.

Tom Fisher 
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