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Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Scientific name: Archilochus colubris

Length: 3 1/2 inches (8.9 cm)

Identification: Having a forked tail, the male also has a ruby-red throat patch. The female's throat is dingy white, but both female and male have long straight bills. The female has a white-tipped, forked tail, compared to the male's blackish tail. A similar, but slightly larger
broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycerus) of the mountainous western US is often mistaken for the ruby-throated hummingbird, but the broad-tailed hummingbird does not have the forked tail of the ruby-throated.

Habitat and range: Found essentially east of the Mississippi River, this North American hummer inhabits woodlands, gardens, orchards, and suburban areas.

FYI: Hitching a ride on the backs of a larger bird to cross a large body of water, e.g., the Gulf of Mexico, is not only untrue but unnecessary for the hummingbird. Ruby-throated hummingbirds build up their body weight by 40 to 50 per cent before migrating from Louisiana and landing on the Yucatan Peninsula. Source: Alexander F. Skutch, The Life of the Hummingbird (New York: Vineyard Books, Inc., 1973), pp. 38-39. Needing more than the nectar and pollen of flowers, they -- like all hummingbirds -- must eat small insects (especially spiders) as a protein supplement. Among warm-blooded vertebrate, only the shrew has a faster metabolism than the hummingbird, necessitating a nearly constant feeding, just to stay alive. Source: "Ruby-throated Hummingbird," Book of North American Birds (Pleasantville, New York: Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1990), p. 195. In 1907, Althea R. Sherman found that a hummingbird can consume double its body weight in sugar every day. Source: Alexander F. Skutch, The Life of the Hummingbird (New York: Vineyard Books, Inc., 1973), p. 33.

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Pictures: click picture(s) for larger version, photo credits, and description.








Select a hummingbird by its name:
(in alphabetical order)

Allen's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird
 
Blue-throated Hummingbird

 

Booted Racket-tail Hummingbird

 

Broad-billed Hummingbird
 
Broad-tailed Hummingbird

 

Calliope Hummingbird

 

Costa's Hummingbird
 
Crimson Topaz Hummingbird

 

Long-tailed Hermit Hummingbird

 

Magnificent (Rivoli's) Hummingbird
 
Peruvian Sheartail Hummingbird   Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird   Red-billed Streamertail Hummingbird
 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Rufous Hummingbird   Sword-billed Hummingbird
 
Violet-crowned Hummingbird   White-eared Hummingbird   Xantus' Hummingbird

Select a hummingbird's nest by its name: (in alphabetical order)

Allen's Hummingbird (nest) & another

Anna's Hummingbird (nest) & another

Bearded Helmetcrest Hummingbird (nest)
 
Black-chinned Hummingbird (nest) & another & with mother

 

Broad-billed Hummingbird (eggs only)

 

Buff-bellied Hummingbird (nest)
 
Calliope Hummingbird (nest)

 

Costa's Hummingbird (nest) & another & with mother

 

Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird (nest)
 
Giant Hummingbird (nest)

 

Glittering-bellied Emerald Hummingbird (nest)

 

Golden-bellied Starfrontlet Hummingbird (nest)
 
Purple-throated Sunangel Hummingbird (nest)   Ruby-throated Hummingbird (nest)   Rufous Hummingbird (nest) & with parents
 
Sappho Comet Hummingbird (nest)   Xantus' Hummingbird (nest)  

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