Bird name:

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Order

APODIFORMES

Family

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Code 4

RUHU

Code 6

SELRUF

ITIS

178040

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Bushes, shrubs, and thickets

Breeding Type:

Polygamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Abundant

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Plant down covered with lichen, moss, bud scales, leaves, shredded bark, and plant fibers.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Rufous Hummingbird: Medium-sized hummingbird, bright rufous-brown overall with white breast and ear patch, red-orange throat, and green shoulders. Rounded tail is rufous with black edges. Some males show green on back and head. Female has green upperparts, rufous sides and undertail, and white breast and belly. Throat is gray and white mottled with an orange-red spot, tail is rufous, black, and green with white-tipped outer tail feathers; very difficult to distinguish from female Allen’s Hummingbird. Juvenile resembles female but has white throat. Subadult male also resembles female but has rufous mask and more rufous on back and head.

Range and Habitat

Rufous Hummingbird: Breeds from southeastern Alaska, British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, and western Montana south to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and northern California. Spends winters mainly in Mexico and occurs in small numbers along the Gulf Coast during migration and in winter. Preferred habitats include forests, riparian shrub, lowland stream bottoms, foothill brushlands, coasts, and high-mountain meadows.

Breeding and Nesting

Rufous Hummingbird: Two white eggs are laid in a lichen-covered cup nest made of plant down and spider webs, attached to a horizontal branch. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Rufous Hummingbird: Eats mostly nectar, but also sap from sapsucker wells, insects, and spiders. Attracted to honeysuckle, scarlet sage, horsemint, and black locust; also red, tubular flowers. Consumes up to 3 times its body weight daily.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Commercial instant nectars

Vocalization

Rufous Hummingbird: Calls include an abrupt, high-pitched "zeee" and various thin squealing notes.

Similar Species

Rufous Hummingbird: Allen's Hummingbird has a green back and slightly decurved bill; females are very difficult to distinguish.

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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.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Ear patch

Consists of soft, loose-webbed feathers on the side of the bird's head below and behind the eyes.

Riparian

Relating to or living or located on the bank of a natural watercourse (as a river) or sometimes of a lake or a tidewater.

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