Field Guide/Birds/Archilochus colubris

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The Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, is a small hummingbird.

Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below. Their bill is long, straight and very slender. The adult male, shown in the photo, has a glossy ruby red throat patch and a dark forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and no throat patch.

Their breeding habitat is open areas throughout most of eastern North America and the Canadian prairies. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. The male aggressively defends feeding locations within his territory.

They are migratory and spend most of the winter in Mexico or Central America.

These birds feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing.

Due to their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and become torpid at night to conserve energy. This is the only hummingbird commonly found in eastern North America.

External links

• http://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/photogallery - photographs of this and other hummingbird species