Educate Yourself all About Hummingbirds
Anna's Hummingbird
The Anna’s Hummingbird has a short, straight bill, long, sloping forehead, dark head with pale eye-ring, red crown and throat, wings appear blurred as they fly, gray-edged tail feathers, and the tail is stationary and in line with the body. Its length is 3-4in (9-10cm)
Its wingspan is 4in (13cm) Its voice is a song consisting of squeaking, grating calls, the feeding call is “chick”. Their eggs are pure white with 1 clutch consisting of 2 (1-3) eggs. The female incubates for about 14-19 days, and fledging time is around 18-23 days. The female feed their young. The female resembles other western species witch are mostly green above and whitish below, but for a husky build, gray chest, and a patch of rose-red in the center of the throat.
The Anna’s Hummingbird is one of the largest hummingbirds can be found in Central, and South America, and in most states of the U.S., except for a few areas in the Plains states. You will find them in most backyards, and gardens but like the open woodlands, and shrubby areas as well. In winter time they will migrate southward, but returns in spring time, as their migration route follows the flowering shrubs.
These beautiful little living jewels, with their shimmering feathers, and their ever lasting energy is a true joy to have around. Hummingbirds come in a wonderful variety of colors, from green to bronze, and purple, blue, red, pink and orange. They are excellent little flying machines as well, as you can watch them stay stationary or move forward, backward, and sideways. When they are stationary you can actually hear their fast beating wings making a humming sound.
From all this constant movement they have to feed almost constantly throughout the day, and when nesting season begins around March, the male hummingbirds stake out a territory over a nectar producing bush, and turn into flying acrobats. Watch them swing like pendulums, or twist in arcs, most anything to impress the female. Once the mating hummingbirds have found one another, and are ready for their mating ritual, as they join together, spinning in tight little circles just above the ground.
The female will build a nest witch measures less than an inch across, using light-weight materials like plant down, and spider webs, and decorate it with lichens on the outside, then fasten it to a small tree branch using its saliva. Anna’s Hummingbird is the only one that does not migrate, unlike other hummingbirds in the United States.
To attract Anna’s Hummingbirds and other hummers to your lovely bird feeding garden, plant terraced native plantings for hummingbirds, as well as trees, shrubs, vines, and plants that produces tube-shaped flowers in red, orange, and yellow.Put out the most colorful nectar feeders you can find on the market, red ones has been shown to attract the best. Once you have established hummingbirds in your garden, you can change the feeders into more subdued colors.
Fill your nectar feeders with a sugar solution using these measurements:
Use 1 part sugar, to 4 parts water, and you can use regular granulated sugar, witch will melt quickly in boiling water, or super fine sugar witch melts in cold water. Make sure the water is cold before you fill the feeders, and do not put any kind of food coloring into the solution, as this can harm the feeding birds. To learn more about hummingbird gardens and feeders go to our section on HUMMINGBIRDGARDENS.
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Trochilidae
The Ruby-throated hummingbird has a glowing, fiery red throat which appears black with backlighting, iridescent green back, long tail with deep notch, and the forked tail projects beyond wingtips. Its length is 3-3 ½ in (8-9cm) Its voice is a call that are squeaky and high. Male in aerial display makes a hum as he moves in a wide arc.
Their eggs are white with 2 clutches consisting of 2 eggs each. The female incubates for about 11-14 days and fledging time is around 14-28 days.The female feed the young.
The female is mostly green above and whitish below. Young hummingbirds have white throats as well.
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only hummingbird to frequent eastern North America. Unbelievably enough, these gays are true marathon runners as their fall migration route starts in southern Canada, crossing the Gulf of Mexico into Central America. They start their migration back along the Gulf Coast in March, and working their way northward, and by the first week of May they have reached Canada.
These beautiful little living jewels, with their shimmering feathers, and their ever lasting energy is a true joy to have around. Hummingbirds come in a wonderful variety of colors, from green to bronze, and purple, blue, red, pink and orange. They are excellent little flying machines as well, as you can watch them stay stationary or move forward, backward, and sideways. When they are stationary you can actually hear their fast beating wings making a humming sound.
From all this constant movement they have to feed almost constantly throughout the day, and when nesting season begins around March, the male hummingbirds stake out a territory over a nectar producing bush, and turn into flying acrobats. Watch them swing like pendulums, or twist in arcs, most anything to impress the female. Once the mating hummingbirds have found one another, and are ready for their mating ritual, as they join together, spinning in tight little circles just above the ground.
The female will build a nest on a forked branch about 5-2-ft (1.5-6m) above the ground. The nest witch measures less than an inch across, and has room for two white eggs, the size of small beans. She uses light-weight materials like plant down, and spider webs, and decorate it with lichens on the outside, then fasten it to a small tree branch using its saliva. The female will build the nest, feed and raise the young with no help from the male. When returning from migration the following year, she will often go back to the same nesting site.
To attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other hummers to your lovely bird feeding garden, plant terraced native plantings for hummingbirds, as well as trees, shrubs, vines, and plants that produces tube-shaped flowers in red, orange, and yellow.Put out the most colorful nectar feeders you can find on the market, red ones has been shown to attract the best. Once you have established hummingbirds in your garden, you can change the feeders into more subdued colors.
Fill your nectar feeders with a sugar solution using these measurements:
Use 1 part sugar, to 4 parts water, and you can use regular granulated sugar, witch will melt quickly in boiling water, or super fine sugar witch melts in cold water. Make sure the water is cold before you fill the feeders, and do not put any kind of food coloring into the solution, as this can harm the feeding birds. To learn more about hummingbird gardens and feeders go to our section on HUMMINGBIRDGARDENS.
Rofous Hummingbird
The Rofous Hummingbird has a flaming orange-red throat, bright-red back (the only North American hummingbird that has a red back), White breast, and outer tail feathers are usually broader than Allen’s Hummingbird. Its length is 3 ½ in (9cm) Its wingspan is 4 ½ in (11cm) Its voice is a call of high, hard “chip tyuk”. Their eggs are pure white with 1 clutch consisting of 2 eggs, The female incubates for around 12-14 days, and fledging time is about 20 days. The female feed the young. The female is mostly green with a whitish underside.
The Rofous Hummingbirds are very well traveled little dynamos, with record setting miles under their belt every year. The fall migration from their nesting habitat in Southern Alaska to Central America measures a whopping 3.000 miles (4,800m), and although they weigh less than a quarter, they can easily fly over 500 miles (800km), without a pit stop.
They also have larger hearts than other hummers, and with their special muscle and blood characteristics they are able to beat their wings 45 times per second. Very impressive!!!
When the time comes to refuel, they will look for a rich feeding area, and feed for about two weeks, and then continue their next face of the migration. During these pit stops they can gain as much as 50% of their total body weight.
The trick to stay energetic for the hummers is to conserve energy witch they do trough reducing their body temperature, and by roosting at lower elevations at night. During the day they will fly up to higher elevations again, where they can find large areas of food supply.
During their migration they will follow the migration of sapsuckers, and also time their route with the flowering of certain plants. To follow the sapsuckers is important to the hummers as well, since the holes drilled by them will provide a source of sweet sap in early spring when flowers in Alaska have not start to bloom yet.
When the nesting season begins around March, the male hummingbirds will stake out a territory over a nectar producing bush, and turn into flying acrobats. Watch them swing like pendulums, or twist in arcs, most anything to impress the female. Once the mating hummingbirds have found one another, and are ready for their mating ritual, as they join together, spinning in tight little circles just above the ground.
The female will build a nest on a forked branch about 5-2-ft (1.5-6m) above the ground.The nest witch measures less than an inch across, and has room for two white eggs, the size of small beans. She uses light-weight materials like plant down, and spider webs, and decorate it with lichens on the outside, then fasten it to a small tree branch using its saliva. The female will build the nest, feed and raise the young with no help from the male. When returning from migration the following year, she will often go back to the same nesting site.
To attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other hummers to your lovely bird feeding garden, plant terraced native plantings for hummingbirds, as well as trees, shrubs, vines, and plants that produces tube-shaped flowers in red, orange, and yellow.Put out the most colorful nectar feeders you can find on the market, red ones has been shown to attract the best. Once you have established hummingbirds in your garden, you can change the feeders into more subdued colors.
Fill your nectar feeders with a sugar solution using these measurements:
Use 1 part sugar, to 4 parts water, and you can use regular granulated sugar, witch will melt quickly in boiling water, or super fine sugar witch melts in cold water. Make sure the water is cold before you fill the feeders, and do not put any kind of food coloring into the solution, as this can harm the feeding birds. To learn more about hummingbird gardens and feeders go to our section on HUMMINGBIRDGARDENS
