Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
To save energy on cold nights, they can enter torpor—a deep sleep where their heart rate drops from 1,200 to only 50 beats per minute.
- Scientific name
- Archilochus colubris
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Apodiformes › Trochilidae › Archilochus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Mixed deciduous forests, forest edges, orchards, and suburban gardens with nectar-rich flowers.
- Diet
- Floral nectar and protein-rich small insects or spiders caught in mid-air.
- Range
- Eastern North America, Central America, Southern Mexico, West Indies
- Size
- Length: 7-9 cm; Wingspan: 8-11 cm; Weight: 2-6 grams.
- Lifespan
- 3 to 5 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Collisions with glass windows, habitat loss, and use of neonicotinoid pesticides.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and a joy to observe. Maintain a distance of 5-10 feet to avoid disrupting their high-energy foraging. If you find an injured bird, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. If one is trapped in a garage or house, hang a red feeder near an open exit to lure it out.
The ruby-throated hummingbird ( Archilochus colubris ) is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in Central America, Mexico, and Florida, and migrates to Canada and other parts of Eastern North America for the summer to breed. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the Mississippi River in North America.
Photo: Blake Ross, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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