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Bird name:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

Order

APODIFORMES

Family

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Code 4

RTHU

Code 6

ARCCOL

ITIS

178032

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Grassland with scattered trees

Breeding Type:

Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Common to fairly common

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

11 - 16

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Soft plant down, fireweed, milkweed thistles, and leaves.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Medium-sized hummingbird with iridescent green upperparts, head, and flanks. Underparts are pale gray with paler breast and green wash on sides and belly; throat is bright red with black chin. Tail is dark and forked. Female and juvenile are duller with white throats and white-edged, rounded tails; subadult male is similar but has dark flecks on throat.

Range and Habitat

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Breeds from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast; only hummingbird that breeds east of the Mississippi River. Spends winters mainly in the tropics and rarely on the Gulf Coast. Found in woodlands, orchards, and gardens.

Breeding and Nesting

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Two white eggs are laid in a nest woven from plant down, held together with spider silk, covered with lichens, and saddled to a tree branch, usually in a forest clearing. Eggs are incubated for 11 to 16 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Feeds mostly on nectar, but also eats insects and spiders; preferred flowers include honeysuckle, petunias, nasturtiums, and lilacs, but is often attracted to red-flowered species. Consumes twice its body weight each day.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Commercial instant nectars

Vocalization

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Call is a mouse-like, twittering squeak.

Similar Species

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Broad-tailed Hummingbird has a duller red throat and lacks black chin. Female is distinguished from the following: Calliope Hummingbird has rufous on flanks and tail; Anna's Hummingbird is larger and has grayer breast; Costa's Hummingbird is smaller, stouter, and has pale eyebrows; Black-chinned Hummingbird has grayer crown and underparts.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America