Ruby Red Throated Hummingbirds

They hover to feed on flowers nectar and sap.

Ruby red throated hummingbirds.

Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. Ruby throated hummingbirds may be small in size but they are big in iridescent colors. Ruby throated hummingbirds live in woodland areas but also frequent gardens where flowering plants are plentiful. These brilliant tiny precision flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source.

The ruby throated hummingbird is the most widespread hummingbird in the united states and canada. 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. 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. What happens when migrating ruby throated hummingbirds reach the gulf of mexico.

Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. Impressive migrants despite their small size some ruby throats may. These hummingbirds have a very strict routine often returning to the same area each and every year. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the mississippi river in north america.

Most rubythroats fly nonstop 500 miles or more across the water to mexico and other central american countries. Male ruby throated hummingbird male ruby throated hummingbird. During this floral feeding. 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 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. Some rubythroats fly over land following the coastline to reach their wintering grounds. A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird. They are the most common in the united states especially in the eastern half.

An adult male ruby throated hummingbird has a black head a red throat gorget and a bright green back. For most people ruby throated hummingbirds are going to be what many people considered to be just a generic hummingbird. Young birds may show a few red spots near the base of the throat and those spots will eventually become a full colorful gorget.