Ruby Throated Hummingbird
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Ruby throated Hummingbird Archilochus
colubris
Description:
- Size: 3 to 4 (7-9 cm)
- Wingspan: 3 to 4 (8-11 cm)
- Weight: .07 to .21 ounces (2-6 g)
This tiny bird has a metallic green back and a bill that is
long, straight and very slender. It hovers while feeding.
Diet:
They feed on tiny flying insects, spiders and
nectar. They can be attracted to
hummingbird feeders using
artificial nectar (sugar water).
Sex Differences:
Male Ruby-throated hummingbirds are metallic green above and
grayish white below with a glossy ruby red throat patch and a dark,
forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and no
throat patch, though she may sometimes show light spotting on her
throat.
Nesting:
The female will search out nearby males after initiating nest
construction. She will gather grasses, pieces of lichen, plant down and
spider webs to build her nest. The spider webs are used to secure
the nest to the chosen location and to hold the nest together. The
chosen location is usually in a deciduous tree in dense woodland, 5 to
30 feet above ground and near the tip of a downward-sloping branch. The
nest is about the size of a walnut.
Range:
A Few Things You Probably Didn't Know:
- Ruby-throats may travel as many as 2,000
miles between Canada and Panama. The trip includes a non-stop,
500-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.
- The ruby throated hummingbird beats its
wings 53 times a second.
- Because of its extremely short legs, a ruby
throated hummingbird can't walk or even hop. The best it can do is
scoot along a perch. If it needs to, it can stretch its leg above its
wing to scratch its head.
Click
here for information on other backyard birds.
Click
here for general hummingbird information.
Click
here for information on best hummingbird feeder.
Click
here for to learn which flowers will attract a Ruby throated
Hummingbird.
Click
here to learn about hummingbird migration.
Click
here to see more hummingbird pictures.
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