Talk about a gem of a bird
All the things you didn't know about the precious ruby-throated hummingbird.
September: The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Last month, we introduced you to pileated woodpeckers and their family-oriented approach to nesting. This month, we’re learning about a different outlook on family life with the ruby-throated hummingbird.
Where You’ll See Them
Ruby-throats are the only hummingbird you’re likely see in North America east of the Great Plains. They are migratory birds. In different stages of their migration, they may be seen in southern Canada, throughout central and eastern United States, and in southern coastal Mexico, northern Panama, and Costa Rica.
During spring and summer breeding season, ruby-throats like edges of deciduous woodlands to build their nests. In the winter, you’ll find them in citrus groves and among dry tropical brush (as opposed to rain forests). They love flowers and, while migrating, may stop just about anywhere with flowers for a nectar meal, including backyard gardens and prairie meadows.
So, if you see a blur of bright color and constant motion near your cardinal flower, bee balm, hosta, zinnia, or trumpet honeysuckle, it may very well be a ruby-throat. Hummingbirds can beat their wings more than 50 times per minute (the wingbeats making their hallmark namesake humming sound). They can fly 25 miles per hour. And when they are really getting a workout—such as when they are making a non-stop 500-mile flight across the Gulf of Mexico—their hearts can beat up to 1,200 times per minute.
In sum: ruby-throats expend a great amount of energy. To keep themselves fueled and ready for flight, they consume two or three times their body weight daily. How much do these little birds weigh? The heftiest ones are said to be a mere six grams, with average male weight being 3.4 grams and the average female weight being 3.8 grams.
Flying Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease
Nearly one-third of the hummingbird’s body weight consists in its well-developed chest muscles. They have nimble shoulder joints, which can rotate almost 180 degrees. This agility and strength make them superb flyers, with the ability to hover back and forth, up and down, and to change direction in an instant. Moreover, ruby-throats’ small feet don’t create much air drag during flight; as a consequence of their tiny feet, ruby-throats don’t walk (they only scoot side-to-side if they need to), which is all to say: these birds are meant to fly.
But if They Move So Fast, How Can You See One?
Do ruby-throats ever stay still long enough for someone to get a good look at them? While ruby-throats often hover while feeding on flowers, they may sometimes perch on sugar-water feeders long enough for you to get a glimpse.
When you finally do get a glimpse, you’ll notice both male and female ruby-throats measure about 3.5 – 3.75 inches long with a 4.5-inch wingspan. Their heads and backs are vibrant iridescent green-gold with whitish underbellies. The males have the signature “ruby throat”—a bright iridescent red gorget, which can appear black, brown, or purple at certain angles or in low light. The ruby-throat pictured above is a female; female ruby-throats have white gorget feathers. Juvenile ruby-throats look similar to adult females. A good way to tell male and female ruby-throats apart is by their tails: males have forked tail feathers whereas females have rounded, blunted tails with white in the corners.
Eating and Drinking
Ruby-throat bills are curved slightly downward; this feature combined with their long tongues make them particularly apt at siphoning nectar from flowers. However, not every flower makes a choice meal for the ruby-throat. They are especially attracted to red, pink, and orange flowers. If you are a gardener and want to make your backyard into a hummingbird haven, here are some ideal flowers to attract them and some additional tips for making your garden a safe place for these little birds. The sugar-water used in hummingbird feeders can spoil and become a danger to them, but if you don’t have time for a garden and want to try out feeders, here is a thoughtful Q&A about maintaining a hummingbird feeder. As a side note, ruby-throats do also eat insects, often by snatching them out of the air and sometimes by plucking them from spider webs.
Family Life
As mentioned earlier, ruby-throats have an interesting family scenario. Male ruby-throats dazzle and impress females with a U-shaped diving courtship display, starting the dive as much as 50 feet above the females to grab their attention.
In stark contrast to pileated woodpeckers, after mating, the female ruby-throat is on its own to build the nest, incubate the eggs, and feed the young. Females often choose branches of deciduous trees for the nests, which they build out of plant material, bind with spider silk, and camouflage with lichen and moss. The finished product is a petite thimble-like cup, about 2 inches in diameter and one inch deep, with a hard bottom and flexible stretchy sides that allow for more room as young grow.
Females lay 1 – 3 eggs, but may have as many as three broods during one breeding season. In fact, females may start building a new nest while still feeding young from her first clutch.
What if I See One Dangling Upside Down?
By September, ruby-throats are prepping for winter, and many have already traveled from northern climates to places like Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. But don’t fret if you see some hummingbirds in northern climes beyond the heat of summer; hummingbirds do have an interesting way of coping in lower temperatures: controlled hypothermia, also called torpor. On cold nights, they can drop their body temperature, slow their heartbeat, and lower their metabolic rate so they don’t burn up all their energy trying to keep warm. They wrap their tiny toes around a branch while they sleep. If perchance the branch is slippery, they may swing upside down. So, if on one frosty morning you see a ruby-throat hanging upside down from your hummingbird feeder, have no fear: it will soon right itself and fly away in its typical dart-like fashion.
Sources:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird/lifehistory
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ruby-throated-hummingbird
https://abcbirds.org/bird/ruby-throated-hummingbird/
https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/ruby-throated-hummingbird.htm
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Birds/Ruby-Throated-Hummingbird
https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/bird-species/hummingbirds-swifts-and-swallows/ruby-throated-hummingbird/
https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-hummingbirds/where-do-hummingbirds-sleep/
https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-hummingbirds/hummingbirds-survive-in-snow-and-freezing-temps/