From Opus

Photo by etow
North Central Ohio, USA, July 2004

Archilochus colubris

[edit] Identification

3 1/2" (9 cm). Needle-like bill, metallic green above, white below, buff sides, white-tipped outer tail feathers, brilliant, iridescent red throat which females and immature males lack.

[edit] Similar Species

Averages shorter-billed and longer-tailed than Black-chinned Hummingbird, with wing tip straighter and narrower.

[edit] Distribution

Female
Photo by KCFoggin
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA April 2009

Southern Canada and USA - east of the Rocky Mountains; winters to Central America and rarely to the Caribbean.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.

[edit] Habitat

Suburban gardens, parks, and woodlands.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

The 2 white eggs are laid in a nest which has been woven from soft plant material. It is held together with spider silk and then covered with lichen.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes nectar, but Ruby-throated Hummingbird can also be seen taking insects and tree sap from woodpecker (sapsucker) drilling and insects taken in flight.

[edit] References

1. What Bird
2. eNature

[edit] External Links