Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris
Hummingbird family (Trochilidae)

3” long. Adult weighs the same as 2 ½ paper clips! Upper parts iridescent green. Male – throat is iridescent red (may appear black). Female – breast and belly whitish. Long bill looks like a toothpick.

Habitat:
Forest edges, gardens.

Nesting:
Nest is about the size of a half dollar coin, 2” in diameter, covered with lichens, placed on a horizontal limb, 10 to 20 feet high. Clutch size – 2 eggs. Eggs are white, ½” long, look like tiny mint candies. Only the female builds the nest and raises the young. She leaves the nest at least once an hour to forage given her high metabolic rate.

Voice:

Rapid squeaky chipping.

Name Origin:

Archilochus:  arch, Greek for “chief”; lochus, Greek for “a body of people”, here meaning “first among the birds”; colubris, Latin for “serpent”; probably a misspelling by Linnaeus, should have been colibre, French for “hummingbird”

In the Nature Park:
Neotropical migrant; flies across the Gulf of Mexico nonstop during migration. Arrives in mid to late April.

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