Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

Order: Apodiformes Family: Trochilidae Genus: Archilochus Species: colubris Profile: 13 positives 3 neutrals No negatives Regional... This bird has been reportedly found in the following regions: Albertville, Alabama Montgomery, Alabama Queen Creek, Arizona North Little Rock, Arkansas Windsor, Connecticut Arden, Delaware Bartow, Florida Bithlo, Florida Gainesville, Florida Jacksonville, Florida Lutz, Florida Masaryktown, Florida Micanopy, Florida Milton, Florida Ocala, Florida Palatka, Florida Quincy, Florida Trenton, Florida Webster, Florida Hazlehurst, Georgia Algonquin, Illinois Aurora, Illinois Morton, Illinois Rock Falls, Illinois Westchester, Illinois Coatesville, Indiana Macy, Indiana Schererville, Indiana Indianola, Iowa Yale, Iowa Barbourville, Kentucky Ewing, Kentucky Fox Chase, Kentucky Hebron, Kentucky Plum Springs, Kentucky Waynesburg, Kentucky Baton Rouge, Louisiana Ethel, Louisiana Hammond, Louisiana Pearl River, Louisiana Carthage, Maine Kingfield, Maine Bishopville, Maryland Olney, Maryland Harwich Port, Massachusetts Dearborn Heights, Michigan Grand Rapids, Michigan Mattawan, Michigan Paw Paw, Michigan Remus, Michigan Traverse City, Michigan Albertville, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota St Paul, Minnesota Florence, Mississippi Maben, Mississippi Marietta, Mississippi Tupelo, Mississippi Cole Camp, Missouri Conway, Missouri Jackson, Missouri Saint Robert, Missouri Beatrice, Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska Atkinson, New Hampshire Warner, New Hampshire Beachwood, New Jersey Marlton, New Jersey Woodstown, New Jersey Himrod, New York Livingston Manor, New York Schenectady, New York Staten Island, New York Yonkers, New York Beulaville, North Carolina Cape Carteret, North Carolina Cary, North Carolina Concord, North Carolina Elizabeth City, North Carolina Gates, North Carolina Mint Hill, North Carolina Trinity, North Carolina Belfield, North Dakota Dickinson, North Dakota Medora, North Dakota Bay View, Ohio Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio Dayton, Ohio Huber Heights, Ohio Lebanon, Ohio Mansfield, Ohio Mount Orab, Ohio New Miami, Ohio North Ridgeville, Ohio Oak Harbor, Ohio Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mill City, Oregon Albion, Pennsylvania Davidsville, Pennsylvania Lebanon, Pennsylvania Meshoppen, Pennsylvania Monroe, Pennsylvania Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania Whitehall, Pennsylvania Warwick, Rhode Island Columbia, South Carolina Georgetown, South Carolina Irwin, South Carolina Red Hill, South Carolina Salem, South Carolina Starr, South Carolina La Follette, Tennessee Maryville, Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee Newport, Tennessee Abram-perezville, Texas Austin, Texas Baytown, Texas Belton, Texas Cesar Chavez, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas Cumings, Texas Dallas, Texas Doyle, Texas Eagle Mountain, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Glenn Heights, Texas Houston, Texas Iowa Park, Texas Knippa, Texas Macallen, Texas Magnolia, Texas Muniz, Texas Sheridan, Texas Texas City, Texas Watauga, Texas Weatherford, Texas Wyldwood, Texas Ashburn, Virginia Basye, Virginia Edinburg, Virginia Penhook, Virginia Rocky Mount, Virginia Walkerton, Virginia Cathan, Washington Petersburg, West Virginia Iron River, Wisconsin Pulaski, Wisconsin Waukesha, Wisconsin Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Positive Mrs_Ed On Dec 31, 2008, Mrs_Ed from Whiteside County, IL (Zone 5a) wrote: These birds are a joy to watch. I am not lucky enough to have enticed them to my garden in the summer (yet). They usually arrive at the end of April for a week or so. I don't see them again until the end of August (until the beginning of October) during the fall migration. Positive DMgardener On Jan 1, 2009, DMgardener from (Daniel) Mount Orab, OH (Zone 6b) wrote: This is by far my favorite bird!!! This is the only Hummer that can be spotted in SW Ohio. They like feeding from the following flowers. *Zinnias *Salvia (ANY. They Love ALL sages!!) *Nasturiums *Iris *Calendula *Daylilly *Lillies * and Petunia Neutral DebinSC On Jan 2, 2009, DebinSC from Summerville, SC (Zone 8a) wrote: Male with red throat, female with white. Female with white tips to tail feathers. Female larger. Neutral rmoran On Jan 2, 2009, rmoran from Pearl River, LA wrote: It isn't often that you get this many at one time. They are warriors!!! Positive Malus2006 On Feb 12, 2009, Malus2006 from Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4a) wrote: had seen them feeding on beebalms Positive DonJr On Mar 17, 2009, DonJr from Webster, FL wrote: They eat flies, which works great for us lol. Nectar is like immediate energy for them and easy to make for the feeders ( 4:1 ratio... 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar ). Some say to add red food color but we've read that it doesn't really atrract them too much more and may be bad for them. We love to watch them but they do tend to bicker amongst themselves ALOT so keep feeders somewhat separated. Positive catbird31 On May 22, 2009, catbird31 from Harwich Port, MA wrote: Not having seen any listing for Ruby Throat Hummingbirds in New England I would like to add this area of the US to DG's database. We routinely feed hummers and are located on Cape Cod, MA. Although there were a few earlier sightings in our area, our first 2009 sighting was a male on May 2 with a female making an appearance a few day later. For NE and NY State info, nehummer.com is an excellent research-based site. Their Summer 2007 news includes photos and text of banding procedures done by certified banders. Enjoy! Positive Sceloporous On Sep 13, 2009, Sceloporous from Lebanon, PA wrote: I planted Lobelia cardinalis last fall...they love this plant. Had a male last July, followed by females later on. But they are territorial...will be planting more Lobelia cardinalis in a different location. Have also bought Penstemon pinifolius and Aquilegia caerulea "Red Hobbit." These plants just went into the ground last week. Will see what happens next year. Positive birder17 On Oct 9, 2009, birder17 from Jackson, MO (Zone 6b) wrote: Love this bird. So dainty yet aggressive. I had one show up here in MO. the week before Thanksgiving in 2007. The female came to our feeder every day. She was banded while here. I have lots of flowers for them to enjoy. They come here in April and leave about the first week in October. It's always a thrill to see them come in April. Positive snowflakey On Nov 4, 2009, snowflakey from Ethel, LA wrote: I've been feeding these llittle dynamos for years in several states I lived in. However, 2008 in Louisiana I thought they were off course in their migration we had so many in the fall. (Huricane Gustav had just passed over us). 2009 same thing, I had 4 feeders and filled them 2 times a day! We must be right in their southern migration path. Lasts for 2 weeks, then slows down to a10 or so and after a month they are gone again. We don't see this much activity in the spring. Positive VaMtnDude On May 22, 2010, VaMtnDude from Basye, VA (Zone 6a) wrote: These magnificent little dynamos are the only thing that could ever motivate me to do so much hard work gardening! I've been totally fascinated by them ever since I saw my first one as a teenager, and I always spend way too much money growing flowers to attract them each summer! I don't know anything that compares with the thrill of getting to see them up close and interacting with them. (See my profile pic.) Positive SaberLily On Jun 12, 2010, SaberLily from Winchester, VA (Zone 7a) wrote: Though they are most easily attracted to red, the hummingbirds in our area seem to easily find purple flowers easily. I had planted catmint for our cats, and even though they had turned up their nose at it, the hummingbirds seem to love it. Hostas are another favorite due to their tubular flowers, though not quite as attention-grabbing. Positive jamiew On Jul 27, 2010, jamiew from Montgomery, AL wrote: Here in Montgomery they arrive in March and stay through November. We have between 5-10 each summer that fight each other for our 3 feeders. They zoom right over our heads in their chase. Sometimes 3 separate groups buzzing around after one another and it makes me think of WWII jet fighters. Their voices are pretty clicks, chattering at each other. Neutral Goombarok On Oct 11, 2010, Goombarok from Newport, TN (Zone 6b) wrote: Sniff, sniff. Oct. 7 was the last day for our hummers. We'll have to wait until April, I'm afraid, to see them again. Newport TN, 37821. Positive Chillybean On Aug 17, 2012, Chillybean from Near Central, IA (Zone 4a) wrote: So? Should I give them a negative rating for all that silly fighting they do? Nah. They are a cute little bird to have around, but it would be nice to have more than one at a time at the feeder. The first time I heard one it about startled me out of my wits. I thought it was a monster wasp until I actually saw who it was. We saw both male and female earlier in the year and now we have seen a juvenile male. Positive FlyGalsMom On Sep 10, 2012, FlyGalsMom from Staten Island, New York City, NY (Zone 6b) wrote: We have at least 7 hummers having WWll dog fights over our feeders~ I don't know if there is more than 1 male since I only see one at a time but he is highly aggressive and sits in the branches where he can see several feeders @ once and zooms in when the others DARE to land on the feeder perches~I am assuming the rest are females and youngsters~ one has white on it's forehead, which I have not noticed in previous summers~ I put out more feeders to try and stop the male from being so selfish~ so now we have 2 on the west side of the house~2 on the east of the house and two in our backyard and four on each corner of our backyard deck~ I was hoping one for each bird would encourage them to live and let live LOL~ but that "boy" is indeed a handful. ;)

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