What Is A Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings.

What is a ruby throated hummingbird. It is considered as the only breeding hummingbird in the eastern north america. Ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris. A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the mississippi river.

Many people recognize them because they aren t afraid of the presence of humans. Ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris the ruby throated hummingbird is by far the most common species that breeds in the eastern half of north america although most states have sporadic rufous sightings and bob and martha sargent have banded eight other hummingbird species as winter visitors to five southeastern states. The ruby throats range extends from southern canada throughout the eastern half of the united states to central america. Ruby throated hummingbirds decorate their nests with lichen and dead.

The ruby throated hummingbird is a small hummingbird with a slender slightly downcurved bill and fairly short wings that don t reach all the way to the tail when the bird is sitting. Due to its small size the bird is sometimes mistaken for a large insect. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens. One of the most common of all species of hummingbirds that people are familiar with is the ruby throated hummingbird.

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. The ruby throated hummingbird one of the smallest hummingbird species can only grow to a length of 3 to 3 5 inches and weight of about 3 grams. The hum of a hummingbird is made by the bird s rapid wing beats.

Relative size same size as a black chinned hummingbird. The ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in central america mexico and florida and migrates to canada and other parts of eastern north america for the summer to breed. 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. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer.