what hummingbird populates the eastern united states? ruby throated hummingbird

The lively little Ruby throated Hummingbird inhabits the eastern portion of the United States. In fact they are the only type of hummingbirds seen in the east. They range from the gulf coast all the way up into south Canada.

They bless us with their gift of beauty and energy during the summer months. Then each fall they fly across the Caribbean to Mexico or Central America for the winter. A few spend their winters in south Florida.

Male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

how big are the ruby-throats?

These birds are not very big at all. In fact they are tiny, measuring from 3 1/2" to 3 3/4". They only weigh a half an ounce.

They get around very fast for such little birds. Their wings beat up to 50 times a second and that is what makes their humming sound.

These tiny birds are the acrobats of the bird world. They are able to fly forward, backward, hover and even fly upside down for a short time.

All their high activity uses a lot of food. They eat every 10 to 15 minutes and consume 2 to 3 times their weight in food every day.

They burn it all up with their high energy metabolism. It's a good thing we don't eat that much.

identifying the ruby throated hummingbird

The Ruby-throat gets its name from the male's ruby-red gorget, his throat. In the sunlight his throat glistens a gorgeous red. Without direct sunlight, his throat will look almost black.

Male, Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The top of his head, sides and back also have iridescent feathers that glisten green in the sunlight. Without direct sunlight his colors look dark.

His primary wing feathers and tail are dark. There is a notch in the center of his tail. The beak and legs are dark.

Just below his ruby throat, the top part of his chest is white before a light-colored belly. In front of the tail, there are small white feathers on his bottom.

The female Ruby throated Hummingbird has a whitish throat and chest. Sometimes there are fine speckles on her throat.
Her head and back are iridescent green like the male Ruby-throat.
The female's tail, large wing feathers, beak and legs are also dark.
The tips of her tail feathers are white on the outside corners, but it is not notched.

Juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird males look very similar to the females.
But before they grow their entire set of feathers, you can see their white fuzzy bottoms, identifying them as youngsters.

Identify more hummingbirds

what do the ruby-throats eat?

Their diet consists of flower nectar. They may visit from 1,000 to 2,000 flowers a day.
They also eat very small spiders and insects for protein. They can catch flying insects out of the air.
They have been seen eating tree sap out of holes in the trees made by larger birds.

They enjoy visiting yards, open wooded areas and places that have the flowers they prefer.

They are particularly attracted to red or orange flowers. But best of all they like trumpet shaped flowers because they hold more nectar.

Female Ruby-throat Hummingbird feeding from a Petunia.

They reach down the trumpet flowers for the tasty nectar. They don't suck up the nectar, they lap it up with their tongue.

Plant some of their favorite flowers like, petunia, bee balm, trumpet vine, fuchsias or honeysuckle.

If there aren't enough flowers for them, they are more than happy to come to our feeders. We can make hummingbird food and put up a feeder for them.

where do the ruby throats nest?

The female Ruby-throated Hummingbird will look for a horizontal branch about 10' to 40' off the ground. Often the nest will be over water to help them stay cooler.
She spends 6 to 10 days building a nest. The nest will roughly be the size of a ping pong ball. The male does not help with any nest building or baby care.
She builds the nest using small leaves, grass, fur, moss, lichens and spider webs. The spider webs enable the nest to stretch larger as the babies grow.

Mother Ruby-throat Hummingbird feeding her babies.

Ruby-throat feeding babies in the nest

When the nest is complete she will lay 2 eggs a 1/2" in size. The eggs will hatch in 12 to 14 days.

The tiny birds are naked and blind when they hatch. They are no larger than a penny. Mom feeds them regurgitated insects and spiders mixed with nectar.

They grow fast and after three weeks they will start exercising their wings on the side of the nest.

After they leave the nest mom will continue to feed them for a few days until they are able to find food on their own.

they head south for the winter

In the fall, August to September depending on exactly where they live, the adults head south for the winter.

The males are the first to make the long trip. The adult females leave later.

The juveniles hang back and eat and then head south weeks after the older hummingbirds have already left.

It's very important to keep our feeders up late in the fall to feed the migrating Ruby-throats. Keep their feeders up at least until the end of September.
Then in the spring March to April, they all fly back to the same area they left in the fall. They remember where the feeders and flowers were from last year.

This tiny bird, just over 3 inches big, flies 500-600 miles south to Mexico or Central America for the winter. Their flight across the Caribbean takes from 18 to 22 hours.

The next spring they fly the long way back to the area where they were hatched. They return to the same area and sometimes to the same nest and feeders, they used the year before.

how long do hummingbirds live?

Many hummingbirds live on the average of four to five years. The Ruby throated Hummingbirds may live from seven to nine years, maybe ten.

They come back to the same place each year, mostly to the area where they hatched. They remember where they found their favorite flowers and feeders the year before.

We had a female Ruby-throat in Florida. She would tell me if I didn't have the feeder up in the spring. She would fly around looking in all the window near where her feeder was hanging the year before.