🐾 Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Archilochus colubris
• Family & relatives: A tiny bird in the hummingbird family Trochilidae, which includes hundreds of dazzling hummingbird species.
• How to spot it: A tiny, glittering green bird with a long thin beak; the male has a bright ruby-red throat that shines in the sun.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Only about 7 to 9 cm long, one of the smallest birds in North America.
• Weight: About 3 grams, lighter than a small coin.
• Body & adaptations: Its wings beat so fast they blur, letting it hover in the air and even fly backward.
• Top speed: It can fly about 45 km/h (28 mph) and dive even faster during courtship.
• Strength: For its size it is amazingly strong, flapping its wings around 50 times every second.
• Senses: It has sharp eyesight and can see bright colors, especially red flowers full of nectar.
• Growing up: It hatches from a tiny egg the size of a pea and grows up in its nest in about three weeks.

Where it lives

• Habitat: Gardens, meadows, forest edges, and parks with plenty of flowers.
• Where in the world: Eastern North America in summer, flying south to Mexico and Central America for the winter.
• Territory: A hummingbird often guards a favorite patch of flowers and chases away visitors who come too close.

What it eats

• Diet: It drinks sweet flower nectar for energy and also eats tiny insects for protein.
• Favorite foods: Flower nectar, tree sap, and tiny insects and spiders.
• How it hunts: It sips nectar with its long tongue while hovering, and snatches little insects out of the air.

How it behaves

• How it moves: It flies in every direction, hovering in place like a tiny helicopter and darting from flower to flower.
• When it is active: Active by day, it rests at night in a deep sleep called torpor to save energy.
• Family life: Mostly solitary; each little bird usually feeds and flies on its own.
• How it talks: It chirps and squeaks and makes a soft humming sound with its fast-beating wings.
• Babies: The mother builds a soft cup-shaped nest and lays two tiny eggs, feeding the chicks all by herself.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: As it drinks nectar it carries pollen from flower to flower, helping plants make seeds and fruit.
• Conservation: Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with healthy numbers across its range.
• Dangers: Tiny and delicate, it faces cold weather, storms, and larger animals, but many return safely each spring.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: Usually about 3 to 5 years in the wild.
• In our culture: Loved as a symbol of joy and energy, it delights people who hang bright feeders in their gardens.
• Where to see it: Backyard flower gardens, nature parks, and near red hummingbird feeders in spring and summer.
• Fun fact: A hummingbird's heart can beat more than 1,000 times a minute, and it is the only bird that can fly backward.