Interesting Facts about Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds.

The hummingbird spends the winter in Central America, Mexico, and Florida and migrates to Canada and other parts of Eastern North America for the summer to breed.It is the most common hummingbird in North America.

Carl Linnaeus described the hummingbird in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that was published in 1729 was the basis for Linneaus' description.South Carolina is the type locality.The Spanish word for hummingbird is colibr meaning "hummingbird".Ludwig Reichenbach introduced the hummingbird to the world in 1854.No subspecies of the species are recognised.[8]

The hummingbird is from 7 to 9 cm long and has an 8 to 11 cm wingspan.The weight can range from 2 to 6 g (0.071 to 0.212 oz), with males average 3.4 g against the slightly larger female which averages 3.8 g.Adults are metallic green above and grayish white below.Their bill is very slender and long.The toes and feet of this species are quite small, with a middle toe of around 0.6 cm and a tarsus of about 0.4 cm.The hummingbird can only move along a branch if it wants to, but it can scratch its head and neck with its feet.[11][12]

The species is male and female.The adult male has a gorget of iridescent red bordered narrowly with black on the upper margin and a black tail with a faint violet sheen.The red iridescence appears dull black from many angles.The female has a rounded tail with outer feathers banded in green, black, and white and a white throat that may be plain or lightly marked.Males have shorter bills than females.Adult females have heavier throat markings than juvenile males.The plumage is changed once a year on the wintering grounds.[15]

The vocalizations of hummingbirds are used for threats.Male vocalize to warn another male that has entered his territory.

The male makes a sound with his wings when he is courting.The sound is produced at each end of the side-to-side flight.During dive displays, the sound is made.A second, rather faint, repeated whine is sometimes produced with the outer tail-feathers during the dive, as the male flies over the female, spreading and shutting the tail as he does so.

Most of the Eastern United States and south-central and southeastern Canada are home to the breeding habitat.A female builds a nest in a shrub or a tree.This species of hummingbird has the largest breeding range.[2]

The hummingbird spends most of the winter in Florida, southern Mexico and Central America, as far south as extreme western Panama and the West Indies.Birds embark on a 900-mile journey from Panama or Mexico to the eastern United States during migration.The bird breeds throughout the eastern United States, east of the 100th meridian, and in southern Canada, particularly Ontario.It is usually seen in Mexico and Florida in the winter.

Older male and female birds were better prepared for long-distance flight than first-year birds because of their higher body weights and larger fuel loads.[21]

The hummingbirds are solitary.Adults of this species are not social and the female cares for her offspring.Both males and females are aggressive towards other hummingbirds.They can defend territories, attacking and chasing other hummingbirds.

As part of their spring migration, some of the population fly from Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico, arriving first in Florida and Louisiana.An 800 km (500 mile) non-stop flight over water would require an adult hummingbird's body weight to be greater than 3 grams.When food and water are unavailable, the tiny birds can double their fat mass in preparation for their Gulf crossing.[17][21]

Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolisms of any animal, with heart rates up to 1260 beats per minute, breathing rate of 250 breaths perminute even at rest, and oxygen consumption of about 4 grams per hour.The hummingbird's oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue is 10 times higher than that of elite human athletes.[17]

During the day, they feed frequently.Hypothermic torpor may be used to conserve energy when temperatures drop.[17]

Hummingbirds have many muscles that allow them to fly.The muscles make up 25% of their body weight, and they have long, blade-like wings that connect to the body only from the shoulder joint.This adaptation allows the bird to fly not only forward but backward, and to hover in mid-air, flight capabilities that are similar to insects and unique among birds.[23]

The main wing bone is adapted for hovering flight.Hummingbirds have proportionally massive deltoid-pectoral muscles which allow wing supination during upstroke.[ 24]

A hummingbird's ability to hover is due to its small mass, high wingbeat Frequency and relatively large margin of mass-specific power available for flight.The proportionally massive major flight muscles allow the bird to leave its wings extended yet turned over during the upstroke.Lift that supports body weight and maneuvering is generated by this.[25]

The ability to support their weight and hover from wing beats creates lift on the downstroke of a wing flap and is similar to an insect.During an upstroke, hummingbirds and insects gain lift by partially hovering through the inversion of their wings.The hummingbird wings beat up to 80 times per second.[28]

Small insects and spiders are its main food.In the diet of adult hummingbirds, small arthropods are an important source of vitamins and minerals.There is a slight preference for red, orange, and bright pink tubular flowers for hummingbird pollination.Their diet may include sugar-rich tree sap taken from wells.The birds catch insects on the wing or from flowers using a long extendable tongue.

Young birds are fed insects since they don't have a sufficient source of food.[18]

The hummingbirds in the family are thought to be polygynous.Polyandry can also occur.They don't form breeding pairs, with males leaving immediately after the reproductive act and females providing all parental care.[28]

The males arrive at the breeding area in the spring to establish a territory.The males court females that enter their territory by performing displays.They perform a "dive display" rising 2.45– 3.1 m above and 1.52–1.84 m to each side of the female.If the female perches, the male begins flying in very rapid horizontal arcs less than 1.5 ft in front of her.The female may give a call and assume a solicitous posture if she is receptive to the male.There is a citation needed.

The nest is usually built on a small, downward-sloping tree limb.Oak, hornbeam, Birch, poplar, and hackberry are some of the favored trees.There are nest on loops of chain, wire, and extension cords.The nest is composed of bud scales, with lichen on the exterior, bound with spider's silk, and lined with fibers such as plant down and animal hair.Most of the time, the nest is well camouflaged.For several seasons, the old nest may be occupied.The female alone constructs the nest and takes care of the eggs and young.

Females lay two white eggs with a range of 1 to 3 in size and produce one to two broods each summer.They brood the chick over a period of 12 to 14 days, and then they are homeothermic.The female feeds the chick from 1 to 3 times per hour.The young leave the nest when they are 18 to 22 days old.[18]

The oldest known hummingbird to be banded was 9 years old.Most hummingbirds of 7 years or more are females, with males rarely surviving past 5 years of age.Loss of weight during the breeding season may be one of the reasons for higher mortality in males.[17]