Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

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Ranked #1,170 in Animals, #28,136 overall

A Beautiful Little Bird

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is one of sixteen hummingbirds to inhabit North America. It is a tiny bird, weighing less than a penny. Hummingbirds are the only species that can fly in any direction including upside down and backwards.

Description 

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a tiny bird approximately 3 ½ inches long. The adults have a metallic green back and a grayish-white belly. Their wings are dark gray almost black. As with most hummingbirds, their bill is long, straight and very slender. The adult male has a distinctive iridescent ruby red throat and a dark forked tail. The female may have a throat patch as well, but it will be white rather than the distinctive ruby color of her male counterparts. Her tail is rounded rather than forked and has white tips.

The male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is slightly smaller than the female and his beak is shorter. Molting occurs in the fall just before the autumn migration.

Range and Habitat 

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird's breeding habitat covers most of eastern North America and Canada. They can be found in deciduous and pine forests, orchards, and gardens.

They are a migratory bird and spend most of the winter in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Feeding Habits 

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is predominantly a nectar feeder. Using its long bill, it extracts the nectar from flowers and flowering trees, but will occasionally feast on insects and tree sap. When feeding in a garden, the Red-throated Hummingbirds will usually feed from the red, tubular flowers first.

Don't Forget the Nectar 

Nectar Hummingbird, 2.5 oz Red

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Flight 

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird has long, blade-like wings that only connect to the body at the shoulder joint. This allows the wings to rotate 180 degrees. This adaptation allows the hummingbird to fly forward, straight up and down, sideways and backwards. It can hover directly in front of a nectar feeder or flower while it feeds as well. The wings beat an average of 55 to 75 beats per second but can reach as high as 200 beats per second.

Share the pleasure. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 500p

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Share your love of birds with this 500 piece puzzle.

Behavior 

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird are solitary birds. Except for mating, there is little contact between the adults. Both the males and females will aggressively defend their feeding grounds especially in late summer and early fall as they fatten up for migration.

They feed frequently throughout the day, but when the temperature drops at night, they conserve energy by entering a hypothermic torpor.

Know your Hummingbirds 

Stokes Hummingbird Book : The Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Hummingbirds

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The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds

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A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (Peterson Field Guides)

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Creating a Hummingbird Garden

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Attracting Birds to Your Backyard 

Peterson's Field Guide to Birds 

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)

Amazon Price: $16.38 (as of 12/16/2009)Buy Now


Peterson's Field Guide to Birds is an absolute must have for anyone with a bird feeder and an interest in watching the birds.

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About the Author 

Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 4,012 lenses, favorited 445, and has created 200 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "The Mallard Duck". See all my lenses

Why Birds Do That 

Why Birds Do That: 40 Distinctive Bird Behaviors Explained & Photographed

Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/16/2009)Buy Now

Birds are fascinating. Their behavior is complex, often comical. Some sing while others do not. Why Birds Do That explains forty distinctive bird behaviors and is enhanced with numerous photographs. It is a must have book for both the backyard bird watcher as well as the avid birder.

Resources used to construct this page 

Dunn, J.L. & Alderfer, J., Editors. 2006. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition. National Geographic Society.

Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.

Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, National Geographic
Seattle Audubon Society
Managing Land for Wildlife, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

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