Ruby Red Throated Hummingbirds

Ruby throated hummingbirds may be small in size but they are big in iridescent colors.

Ruby red throated hummingbirds. Ruby throated hummingbirds live in woodland areas but also frequent gardens where flowering plants are plentiful. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. With emerald green backs and crowns white or gray bellies and bright red throat patches you will know you re gazing upon a male ruby throat when you see one. They hover to feed on flowers nectar and sap.

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. Some rubythroats fly over land following the coastline to reach their wintering grounds. An adult male ruby throated hummingbird has a black head a red throat gorget and a bright green back. These hummingbirds have a very strict routine often returning to the same area each and every year.

These brilliant tiny precision flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. If you live east of the mississippi you ve probably seen one or many. While females have very faint gray streaks on the throat juvenile male ruby throated hummingbirds have much bolder streaks that will gradually show the red iridescence characteristic of their fathers. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the mississippi river in north america.

Young birds may show a few red spots near the base of the throat and those spots will eventually become a full colorful gorget. A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird. Most rubythroats fly nonstop 500 miles or more across the water to mexico and other central american countries. For most people ruby throated hummingbirds are going to be what many people considered to be just a generic hummingbird.

The ruby throated hummingbird is the most widespread hummingbird in the united states and canada. They are the most common in the united states especially in the eastern half. What happens when migrating ruby throated hummingbirds reach the gulf of mexico. Impressive migrants despite their small size some ruby throats may.

Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. During this floral feeding. 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.