Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD – (Archilochus colubris)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Archilochus
Species: A. colubris

Ruby-throated hummingbirds main residence is mostly in the Midwest and on the east coast of the United States.

Scientist Carl Linnaeus of Sweden is credited with giving the Ruby-throated hummingbird its scientific name. He initially classified the species as “Trochilus colubris.” 

Its name was revised more than a century later when German botanist Ludwig Reichenbach classed it as “Archilochus colubris,” which is now its scientific name and means “sky spirit/sun-god bird” or “top thief.”

Male
Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds:

Male Ruby-throated hummingbirds are vibrant and slightly smaller than females. They feature an iridescent ruby-red or blood-red throat (gorget) that can appear black in poor light.

Their backs and crowns are metallic green, while their underparts are pale gray to white. The tail is forked and dark, without the white tips seen in females.

The metal plate that shields the wearer’s throat during combat to prevent injuries is the inspiration behind the name of the gorget on a male hummingbird.

This name is acceptable and fitting to characterize the physical characteristics of male hummingbirds, since they fight fiercely for their own territory.

Read my article:
Hummingbird Gorgets Explained

The Ruby-throated hummingbird is a tiny species of hummingbird, measuring 2.8 to 3.3 inches in length and weighing less than 4.5 grams, or two U.S. dimes.
They live for three to five years on average. 

Female
Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds:

Female Ruby-throated hummingbirds have green backs, pale grayish-white underparts, and a rounded tail with white tips on the outer feathers. Unlike males, they lack the iridescent red throat patch (gorget) and instead have a plain pale gray throat.
They are slightly larger than males and are less colorful with a white throat stippled with light spots.

They are often seen foraging or tending to nests, which they build from plant fibers and spider silk. Their subdued coloration helps them stay camouflaged while nesting.

Ruby-throated hummingbird’s life expectancy is roughly three to five years.
The oldest female Ruby-throated hummingbird on record, at nine years old, is nearly twice as old as the male life expectancy.

See my article:
Hummingbird Parents: (Mating to Nesting)

Note: The pollen on her head and beak. This female Ruby-throated hummingbird has been busy pollinating and drinking nectar from flowers to sustain her high metabolism.

Juvenile
Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds:

Juvenile Ruby-throated hummingbirds, both male and female, resemble adult females in appearance. They have green backs, pale grayish-white underparts, and rounded tails with white tips on the outer feathers. 

Young males eventually will show faint speckling or streaks of iridescent red on their throats, which develop into the full gorget with maturity.

As juveniles molt into their first full set of feathers, the fluffy white undertail coverts become visible. These feathers are a distinguishing feature and are often more prominent due to their soft texture.

Juveniles are slightly smaller than adults and are often less confident flyers. They spend much of their time learning to forage at flowers and feeders, developing the skills needed for survival. 

Note: The throat feathers are slowly coming in, displaying a few dots of color near the neckline and showing the first stages of adolescence.

Note: This juvenile Ruby-throated hummingbird is struggling with a bee or wasp situation at the feeder. 

See my article:
Bees On My Hummingbird Feeder: (9 Tips To Get Rid of Them)

Baby
Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds:

Baby Ruby-throated hummingbirds are tiny, naked, and helpless at birth, weighing less than a gram with closed eyes. They develop gray down within days, followed by pin feathers and green juvenile plumage by 2–3 weeks. 

Fed nectar and insects by their mother, they fledge at 18–22 days, ready to explore and forage.

See my article:
Baby Hummingbirds: (Egg to Fledgling)

Note: Observe the great fat reserves they have amassed from the feedings of their devoted mother’s, which will help them get through puberty.

Hear the sounds of the Ruby-throated hummingbird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology link).

The Ruby-throated hummingbird migrates via two different routes in the spring and fall. 

The first migration route takes them directly, via the Gulf of America, southwest to Mexico, where they travel nonstop until they reach Central America for the winter.

Over 500 miles is the flight distance over the Gulf of America. Despite being the direct “short” route, these birds must overcome many difficulties.

Not being able to rest, not having access to food or fuel, and needing to steer clear of the severe tropical Atlantic hurricanes while traveling to their destination are some of the challenges faced when flying over the Gulf of America. 
To exacerbate the situation, they migrate during the night.

Even though both sexes double their body fat before beginning their arduous transoceanic migratory pattern across the Gulf of America, researchers think that males’ energy consumption is more taxing due to their small stature.

The second land migration path is long and follows the Gulf of America’s shoreline.
Even though there are fewer guarantees of food sources along the way, taking the “long” route gives them the chance to stop and replenish.

Scientists are unclear and continue to investigate why one group of birds would prefer to take one route over the other.

Despite their aggressive nature, these hummingbirds are eaten by predators such as dragonflies, big crustaceans, praying mantises, and orb-weaver spiders.

Read my article:
10 Common Things That Kill Hummingbirds

Nine years and one month was the oldest known living female Ruby-throated hummingbird, found during a capture and release banding operation in West Virginia.

Read my article:
3 Reasons Why Hummingbirds Are Banded