Ruby Throated Hummingbird – My Shot of the Day – May 6, 2013

It doesn’t seem to matter much that many of the habitat maps for the little Ruby throated hummingbird puts Taos well outside of thier range. We’ve had loads of them. The males, like this one above, showed up early and fought amongst themselves for access to the solitary feeder we put out this year. Just a few days ago the females showed up and suddenly we can’t seem to keep the feeder filled they are going after it so fast.

It is typical that they are very shy and nervous of people at first but by now they’ve become very comfortable with us around. Both of these shots were taken just above my son’s head as he prowled in the bushes under the feeder. Neithey of these Ruby Throated

hummingbird s were feeling the least bit threatened by a boy crashing around the bushes right near them.

Here is more about the Ruby Throated Hummingbird from Wikipedia:

The Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a small hummingbird.

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The RubyThroated Hummingbird is 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long and has a 8–11 cm (3.1–4.3 in) wingspan. Weight canrange from 2 to 6 g (0.071 to 0.21 oz), with males averaging 3.4 g (0.12 oz) against the slightly larger female which averages 3.8 g (0.13 oz). Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below, with near-black wings.

[snip]

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird can only shuffle if it wants to move along a branch, though it can scratch its head and neck with its feet. The species is sexually dimorphic. The adult male, shown in the photo, has a ruby red throat patch, also known as a gorget which may appear black in some lighting, and a dark forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and generally no throat patch, though she may sometimes have a light or whitish throat patch. The male is smaller than the female, and has a slightly shorter beak. A molt of feathers occurs once a year, and begins during the autumn migration.

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The breeding habitat is throughout most of eastern North America and the Canadian prairies, in deciduous and pine forests and forest edges, orchards, and gardens. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or a tree. Of all North American hummingbirds, this species has the largest breeding range.
The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is migratory, spending most of the winter in southern Mexico, Central America as far south as South America, and the West Indies. It breeds throughout the eastern United States, east of the 100th meridian, and in southern Canada in eastern and mixed deciduous forest. In winter, it is seen mostly in Mexico.

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