Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) lives in forest across Southeastern United States. It feeds on nectar & insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- About 35 million ruby-throated hummingbirds buzz across eastern North America, making them the continent's most common hummingbird. Yet the latest census shows a 17 % drop since the previous count, hinting that even abundant species can wobble under changing conditions. This sheer number underscores their role as a key pollinator.
- During fall migration some ruby-throated hummingbirds launch a nonstop 900-mile sprint across the Gulf of Mexico, a journey that can last 20 hours without food or water. To fuel this marathon they double their fat stores beforehand, then burn the entire reserve in flight. This extreme endurance shows how a bird barely larger than a penny can transform its body into a high-energy aircraft.
- A ruby-throated hummingbird can flap its wings up to 80 times each second while hovering, and in courtship dives the rate can surge to 200 beats per second, far faster than the 90 beats per second typical of normal flight. This rapid wingbeat creates lift on both the downstroke and upstroke, letting the bird hover, fly backward, and even pause mid-air like a helicopter, a maneuver that lets it sip nectar from flowers.
- Even at rest a ruby-throated hummingbird's heart thunders at up to 1,260 beats per minute and it breathes about 250 times each minute, while its oxygen use hits roughly 4 ml per gram per hour. In flight this oxygen consumption spikes to ten times that of elite human athletes, often twice its body weight daily, to stay aloft.
- Ruby-throated hummingbirds build their nests on slender branches 3.1 to 12.2 m above ground, using spider silk, bud scales and plant down. Females lay 1-3 white eggs, each about 12.9 mm × 8.5 mm, and incubate them for 10-14 days before the chicks fledge after 18-22 days.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSoutheastern United States
HabitatForest
DietNectar & insects
About the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
As the Ruby-throated Hummingbird darts through the sun-drenched garden, its iridescent feathers glimmering like polished jewels, it embodies the very essence of frenetic energy, its rapid wingbeats a mesmerizing blur as it pursues the sweet nectar that fuels its high-octane lifestyle. With each swift, agile maneuver, the hummingbird weaves an intricate pattern of movement, its tiny form a whirlwind of color and light as it flits from bloom to bloom. In this fleeting, whirring dance, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird reveals its remarkable adaptability and resilience, a true marvel of evolutionary ingenuity.
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