Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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iRuby-throated Hummingbird

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Trochiliformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Genus:	Archilochus
Species:	A. colubris

Binomial name

Archilochus colubris
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, is a small hummingbird. It is 7-9 cm long with an 8-11 cm wingspan, and weighs 2-6 g.

Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below. Their bill is long, straight and very slender. The adult male, shown in the photo, has 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.

Female Ruby-throated hummingbird.

The breeding habitat is open areas throughout most of eastern North America and the Canadian prairies. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Both males and females of any age aggressively defend feeding locations within his or her territory. The aggressiveness becomes most pronounced in late summer to early fall as they fatten up for migration.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is migratory, spending most of the winter in Mexico or Central America.

These birds feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing.

Due to their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and sometimes become torpid at night to conserve energy. This is the only hummingbird commonly found in eastern North America.

Females lay two white eggs averaging 12.9 by 8.5 mm.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Archilochus colubris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Interesting Ruby-throated Hummingbird Facts donated by BirdHouses101.com