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Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

AvesDeciduous and mixed woodland edges, gardens and orchards of eastern North AmericaLeast Concern

Field profile

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that breeds regularly east of the Great Plains in North America. Adult males carry an iridescent red gorget that looks black in poor light. Birds weigh roughly three grams and feed on nectar, tree sap and small arthropods.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-02-12

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

A three-gram bird crosses the Gulf of Mexico

Many ruby-throated hummingbirds fly non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico on migration, a water crossing of roughly 800 kilometres. They do it by nearly doubling their body mass in fat before departure rather than by any trick of gliding.

Read with evidence →