Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Go The Extra Mile For Birds Your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Act by December 31! Donate Now
Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding chicks. Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting Black Cohosh. Juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding.

“Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)”
xeno-canto
Anderw Spencer

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird with chicks by Agnieszka Bacal, Shutterstock
Ruby-throated Hummingbird range map by Birds of North America, https://birdsna.org maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Copyright 2022 © American Bird Conservancy. All Rights Reserved. American Bird Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) organization. EIN: 52-1501259
Our site uses cookies to collect anonymous information about your use of our website. This information is used to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Ok Privacy policy
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird weighs less than a nickel, and like all hummingbird species including the Calliope and Rufous , it is a master of flight. Beating its wings 60 to 80 times a second, this tiny sprite creates a blur of motion and a whirring, insect-like sound. At first glance, it's easy to mistake a Ruby-throated Hummingbird for a large bee!
All hummingbirds share skeletal and muscle adaptations that allow for speedy, agile flight. Their long, blade-like wings have a unique, flexible shoulder joint that allows the wings to rotate almost 180 degrees while moving forward and backward in a horizontal figure-8 pattern. This pattern generates lift on both forward and backward wing strokes and allows extreme maneuverability in flight.
Hummingbirds' pectoral (chest) muscles are especially well-developed, comprising up to 30 percent of their body weight — a higher percentage than in any other bird group. The main wing bone, or humerus, is relatively short and strong, helping to stabilize a hummingbird's wings during hovering flight, yet allowing for fine movements that enable quick changes of direction.
Like the Chimney Swift , another master flier and member of the same avian order, the Apodiformes, hummingbirds have tiny feet. Having small feet reduces aerodynamic drag in flight. but there's a downside: These birds cannot walk. They can only perch or scoot sideways.On cold nights, these diminutive dynamos conserve energy by lowering their body temperature and heart rate, entering a temporary state of torpor. The next morning, within a few minutes, the hummingbird speeds up its metabolism and gets its body temperature back to normal. This ability to enter controlled hypothermia is shared by many other small birds such as the Black-capped Chickadee .
A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird puts on an elaborate aerial courtship display, swooping from heights of up to 50 feet into a series of looping, U-shaped dives designed to impress any female entering his territory. His wings make a twittering sound during these displays, accompanied by the male's voice, a high-pitched, squeaky chittering. Listen to a male's display here:
(Audio of male Ruby-throated Hummingbird display, XC21091, Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/21091 )
Once a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird attracts a female, the two mate, and the female sets up housekeeping within his territory. She builds a walnut-sized nest of lichens and spider webs, where she lays two to three tiny eggs. As in all hummingbird species, the female Ruby-throat provides all the care for the young, which quickly outgrow their little nest and fledge after two to three weeks.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds expend a great deal of energy during flight, so they need to feed almost constantly, each day consuming up to half their weight in sugar. They feed mainly on flower nectar, preferring red or orange tubular flowers such as Trumpet Creeper, Cardinal Flower, Spotted Jewelweed, and bee-balms. They also eat insects and occasionally drink tree sap. Ruby-throats also readily visit hummingbird feeders for sugar water and aggressively defend food sources against intruders.
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only hummingbird species that nests east of the Mississippi River. During the spring and summer, Ruby-throats may be found from southern Canada across the central and eastern states to the Gulf Coast. They winter mainly in the tropics, from coastal southern Mexico south to northern Panama, although some winter along the U.S. Gulf Coast and at Florida's southern tip.
Most North American hummingbird species are migratory, unlike their more southerly relatives such as the Long-tailed Sylph and Esmeraldas Woodstar . These South American hummingbirds, if they wander at all, travel short distances, such as up and down mountain slopes as they track flowering plants. Incredibly, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fly straight across the Gulf of Mexico during their migrations to and from their wintering grounds. This non-stop flight is an amazing feat for a bird the size of a peanut!
In the spring, their migration north appears to be timed to the appearance of certain flowers along their route. (If you're interested in attracting hummingbirds to your yard, we have tips on creating a hummingbirds paradise. )
Help support ABC's conservation mission!
Although Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are not endangered, they are still frequent victims of window collisions and regularly fall prey to outdoor cats and other predators. Habitat loss on both breeding and wintering grounds is also a threat.
Fortunately, ABC has a number of initiatives in place to tackle these perils, including our Cats Indoors program, which encourages pet owners to keep cats and birds safe, and our Glass Collisions program, which offers solutions to keep birds from hitting windows .
Through ABC's BirdScapes approach, we're working to conserve breeding and wintering habitat for migrants such as the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Shade-coffee farms also provide safe havens for this hummingbird and other migratory birds on their wintering grounds; purchasing Bird Friendly© certified coffee is one of the ways you can help the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and many other migratory birds.
Policies enacted by the U.S. Congress and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have a huge impact on America's birds. You can help shape these rules for the better by telling lawmakers to prioritize birds, bird habitat, and bird-friendly measures. To get started, visit ABC's Action Center .
Living a bird-friendly life can have an immediate impact on the birds around you. Doing so can be as easy as adding native plants to your garden, avoiding pesticides, and keeping cats indoors. To learn more, visit our Bird-Friendly Life page .
American Bird Conservancy and our Migratory Bird Joint Venture partners have improved conservation management on more than 6.4 million acres of U.S. bird habitat — an area larger than the state of Maryland — over the last ten years. This is a monumental undertaking, requiring the support of many, and you can help by making a gift today .
Our 400+ detailed species profiles bring birds to life across the Americas with a focus on threats and conservation.
Get the latest conservation news, meet new species, and learn how you can help protect birds throughout the Americas.

Audubon Locations

Audubon Events

Audubon Products

Gift Center

Or take action immediately with one of our current campaigns below:

Become a Member

Renew Membership

389 | North American bird species are threatened by climate change
1,100 | Number of coastal sites where Audubon works
200,000 | Acre-feet of water set aside for conservation purposes along the Colorado River
1.9M | Acres of farmland under bird-friendly land management practices
800,000 | Native plants planted by Audubon members

The Audubon Bird Guide is a free and complete field guide to more than 800 species of North American birds, right in your pocket.
Type in your search and hit Enter on desktop or hit Go on mobile device

Hundreds of kinds of hummingbirds nest in the American tropics, and more than a dozen in the western U.S., but east of the Great Plains there is only the Ruby-throat. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens. Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar, it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. Impressive migrants despite their small size, some Ruby-throats may travel from Canada to Costa Rica.

Hundreds of kinds of hummingbirds nest in the American tropics, and more than a dozen in the western U.S., but east of the Great Plains there is only the Ruby-throat. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens. Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar, it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. Impressive migrants despite their small size, some Ruby-throats may travel from Canada to Costa Rica.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird In the News More News

Spread the word. It’s the least you can do.

Home

News

Birds

Conservation

Get Outside

Magazine

About Us

Press Room

Careers

Audubon Near You

Notice of Annual Meeting

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.
Bald Eagle. Photo: Howard Arndt/Audubon Photography Awards
Great Egret. Photo: Dick Dickinson/Audubon Photography Awards

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.
Bald Eagle. Photo: Howard Arndt/Audubon Photography Awards
Female or immature. Photo: Gary Robinette/Audubon Photography Awards
At flowers, usually feeds while hovering, extending its bill and long tongue deep into the center of the flower. At feeders, may either hover or perch. To catch small insects, may fly out and take them in midair, or hover to pluck them from foliage. Sometimes takes spiders (or trapped insects) from spider webs.
2. White. Incubation is by female only, 11-16 days. Young: Female feeds the young. Nest stretches as young grow. Age of young at first flight about 20-22 days. Usually 1-2 broods per year, sometimes 3. Female may begin building second nest while still feeding young in the first.
Female feeds the young. Nest stretches as young grow. Age of young at first flight about 20-22 days. Usually 1-2 broods per year, sometimes 3. Female may begin building second nest while still feeding young in the first.
Mostly nectar and insects. Takes nectar from flowers, and will feed on tiny insects as well. Favors tubular flowers such as those of trumpet vine. Will also feed on sugar-water mixtures in hummingbird feeders.
In courtship display, male flies back and forth in front of female in wide U-shaped "pendulum" arc, making a whirring sound on each dive. Also buzzes back and forth in short passes in front of perched female. Nest site is in a tree or large shrub, 5-50 feet above the ground, usually 10-20 feet. Placed on horizontal branch or one that slopes down from tree, usually well surrounded by leafy cover. Nest (built by female) is a compact cup of grasses, plant fibers, spider webs, lined with plant down. The outside is camouflaged with lichens and dead leaves.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Almost all leave North America in fall, wintering from Mexico to Costa Rica or Panama. Some may cross Gulf of Mexico but many go around, concentrating along Texas coast. In spring, males move north earlier than females.
Almost all leave North America in fall, wintering from Mexico to Costa Rica or Panama. Some may cross Gulf of Mexico but many go around, concentrating along Texas coast. In spring, males move north earlier than females.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
Believed to imbue romantic powers, ‘chuparosas’ are widely sold in Mexico and, now, the United States, writes forensic ornithologist Pepper Trail.
Audubon’s Migratory Bird Initiative has already started to find out.
Playing audio clips of songs and calls is a common tool for getting better shots, but it can also be detrimental to birds and their chicks.

Latin:
Archilochus alexandri

Latin:
Selasphorus platycercus

Latin:
Selasphorus calliope

Latin:
Calothorax lucifer

Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program.
Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk.
Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives.
Audubon protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow.

National Audubon Society

Legal Notices Privacy Policy Contact Us

Thought to have declined in some regions in recent years, but surveys show no distinct downward trend.
Gardens, wood edges. Summers in a variety of semi-open habitats, including open woods, clearings and edges in forest, gardens, city parks. Winters mostly in rather open or dry tropical scrub, not usually in rain forest. Migrants may pause in any open habitat with flowers.

Возможно, сайт временно недоступен или перегружен запросами. Подождите некоторое время и попробуйте снова.
Если вы не можете загрузить ни одну страницу – проверьте настройки соединения с Интернетом.
Если ваш компьютер или сеть защищены межсетевым экраном или прокси-сервером – убедитесь, что Firefox разрешён выход в Интернет.

Firefox не может установить соединение с сервером www.nwf.org.

Отправка сообщений о подобных ошибках поможет Mozilla обнаружить и заблокировать вредоносные сайты

Сообщить
Попробовать снова
Отправка сообщения
Сообщение отправлено

использует защитную технологию, которая является устаревшей и уязвимой для атаки. Злоумышленник может легко выявить информацию, которая, как вы думали, находится в безопасности.

Media Player Error Update your browser
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris ORDER: Caprimulgiformes FAMILY: Trochilidae
Year-round Breeding Migration Nonbreeding
Other Names Colibrí Gorjirrubí (Spanish) Colibri à gorge rubis (French) Colibrí Gorjirrubí (Spanish) Colibri à gorge rubis (French)

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird beats its wings about 53 times a second.
The extremely short legs of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird prevent it from walking or hopping. The best it can do is shuffle along a perch. Nevertheless, it scratches its head and neck by raising its foot up and over its wing.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds prefer to feed on red or orange flowers (though it's not necessary to color the sugar water you put in a hummingbird feeder). Like many birds, hummingbirds have good color vision and can see into the ultraviolet spectrum, which humans can’t see.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds normally place their nest on a branch of a deciduous or coniferous tree; however, these birds are accustomed to human habitation and have been known to nest on loops of chain, wire, and extension cords.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are eastern North America’s only breeding hummingbird. But in terms of area, this species occupies the largest breeding range of any North American hummingbird.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds don’t stick around long. Pairs are together long enough for courtship and mating – just a matter of days to weeks. Then he’s off on his own, and may begin migration by early August.
The oldest known Ruby-throated Hummingbird was a female, and at least 9 years, 2 months old when she was recaptured and rereleased in 2014 during banding operations in West Virginia.

Summertime in the United States of Hummingbirds
Tiny Hummingbirds’ Incredible Migration
Flyways for Flyweights: Small Birds Capitalize on Weather Patterns During Epic Migrations
eBird Annual Changes in Hummingbird Migration Revealed by Birders' Sightings
Project FeederWatch Ruby-throated Hummingbird's Winter Range Moves Northward
Search for species name or keywords Search
A flash of green and red, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is eastern North America’s sole breeding hummingbird. These brilliant, tiny, precision-flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun, then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds, and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. Enjoy them while they’re around; by early fall they’re bound for Central America, with many crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight.
Find Ruby-throated Hummingbirds by wandering flowering gardens or woodland edges at the height of summer, or by putting up a hummingbird feeder or visiting a friend who keeps them. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are common in suburbs and towns, and can become quite bold, feeding at hanging plants and feeders on your porch or next to y
Russian New Zoo Porn
Mommy Go Black
Spanked Comix

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Report Page