Ruby Throated Hummingbird Facts Narration

Male top right corner; Female at the feeder

Hummingbirds build their nests with cobwebs. Their nests are the size of quarters.  They tie the ends of the cobwebs to little pebbles to balance the nest.  They lay two eggs that are about the size of garden peas.  

They are the smallest bird in the world.  They are the only bird that eats nectar besides Orioles.

On their neck it doesn't always show red until the Sun hits it and reflects the bright red.  When it isn't facing the Sun, their neck looks black.  That's the males.  The female don't have that. Their necks are white.  Some have very interesting beaks.  Some are very short, others stick way out, others curve way down.  Their beaks are made for flowers, especially long, trumpet shapes. Their tongues are tubes with little circles in them.  Once they get nectar their tongues split and the little circles open and they start sucking in the nectar.  When they get all the nectar their tongues come back together and the circles close, and holding the nectar in, and then they swallow before they go to the next blossom.  But hummingbirds don't only live on nectar.  They also eat sap and whole insects, sometimes ones that are caught in cobwebs, and sometimes even the spider that made the web!

Hummingbirds migrate to Mexico and some go across the Gulf of Mexico to get there.

With one flap of their wings after resting they are off at almost full speed ahead. But other birds have do a few flaps to build up speed.  When you look at a flying hummingbird, you can barely see their wings.  Their wings make a humming sound because they are going so fast, and that's where they get their name.  The humming isn't their song. They have a very fast, trilled song.  Hummingbirds can fly in all directions, and are the only bird that can fly backwards.

To try to attract females, male hummingbirds flap faster than usual, like 200 beats per second, to impress the female hummingbirds.

When a hummingbird goes to a feeder it will guard the feeder because it's his territory.  When another one comes along, he will zoom at him and chase him away because he claimed the territory already.  We put our feeders out in April and are still watching them today in August! They even go to the Oriole feeders and get nectar from them (they are the orange ones).

Male Ruby Throated Hummingbirds have the brighter green feathers and black neck that turns brilliant red when the sun shines on it.

Male

  The females are not as brightly colored and only have white necks.  This is for their protection and is called camouflage  

Female

But they are still beautiful! Look at the pretty colors on this female:

Hummingbirds are one of my favorite birds and they have been for a long time.  They are very, very, 100% adorable and pretty. One of the things that makes them cute is their long beak and their teenyweensy feet.  Thank you. 

By: Lead Bugger