Ruby Red Throated Hummingbird Nest

A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird.

Ruby red throated hummingbird nest.

Female ruby throated hummingbird may reuse old nests for several seasons and repair them annually. The cup shaped nest is usually only about 1 2 inches 2 5 5 cm high and 1 5 inches 3 8 cm wide. Ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris. Sides flanks dusky green.

Impressive migrants despite their small size some ruby throats may. Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. Tail deeply forked and outer rectrices tail feathers very narrow attenuate and black without white tips. Hundreds of kinds of hummingbirds nest in the american tropics and more than a dozen in the western u s but east of the great plains there is only the ruby throat.

These brilliant tiny precision flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. Adult males have a brilliant iridescent red gorget black chin. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the mississippi river in north america. The ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris is a species of hummingbird that generally 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.

Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens.