Statistics
Length: 2.5 – 4 inches
Weight: 2 – 6g
Wing Beats: 40-80 per second
Heart Beat: Resting – 250 beats per minute / Feeding - 1200 beats per minute
Colour: Males have an emerald green back, iridescent ruby red throat, grey flanks and forked tail. Females have an emarld green back, white breast and throat, and a round, white tipped tail.
About
The small ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common species that breeds in North America. Ruby-throats are inquisitive and will visit feeders, showing little fear of humans.
Males in particular will display aggressive territorial behaviour towards other males and can often be observed battling over feeders. Courtship is brief and after the pea-sized eggs hatch, the female raises the young alone for the nesting phase of between 18 to 23 days. After fledging the chicks will be fed by their mother for around ten days before they are no longer tolerated as the mother goes in search of the food necessary to prepare for the fall migration. The winter is spent in Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean islands with a non-stop crossing of the Gulf in around 18-20 hours.
An extraordinary feat for this little hummer!
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