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The rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm (3.1 in) long with a long, straight and very slender bill. These birds are known for their incredible flight skills. Some are known to fly 2,000 mi (3,200 km) during their migratory transits.
The adult male has a white breast, rufous face, upperparts, flanks and tail and an iridescent orange-red throat patch or gorget. Some males have some green on back and/or crown. The female has green upperparts with some white, some iridescent orange feathers in the center of the throat, and a dark tail with white tips and rufous base.
The female is slightly larger than the male. Females and the rare green-backed males are extremely difficult to differentiate from Allen's hummingbird. This is a typical-sized hummingbird, being a very small bird. It weighs 2–5 g (0.071–0.176 oz), measures 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long and spans 11 cm (4.3 in) across the wings.
They feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendible tongue or catch insects on the wing. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and become [torpor|torpid] at night to conserve energy. Because of their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals.
One of the joys of visiting my father-in-law is wandering around his property in the Beaver Valley, near Markdale Ontario. There is abundant swampland, heavily-treed areas (old pine and huge cedar) and open fields and former orchards. This means a wide array of birds migrate through and nest there. Hummingbirds are not birds I have been around a lot, although I have seen them in forests north of Ottawa.
Our hummingbirds have been very skittish this year, so I haven't had much luck getting any photos. This morning there has been a lot of activity around the feeder, they're probably getting ready to migrate south. Or maybe there are migratory birds passing through?? Anyway, I enjoy watching the hummingbird wars as they chase each other away and around. One of my FB friends (Scott Evers) calls them flying jewels. I couldn't agree more!
Hummingbird enjoying the feeder on theh porch of our cabin at Twin Lakes, WA. Taken with a Canon XSi and Tamron 200-500mm.
Huntington Beach - Bordered on one side by Pacific Coast Highway and oil fields and houses on the other, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve wetlands is a 300 acre coastal sanctuary for wildlife and migratory birds. There's a wooden bridge crossing over a tidal inlet and a 1.5 mile loop trail providing spectacular wildlife viewing.
When entering the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach.
Documentation shots of male coming to feeder at private residence, photos taken in low light with fog,
Amherst, MA, Oct 20, 2012
Saw this amazing little guy at my best friend's butterfly bush.
Folks often mistake sphinx moths for a bird, a bee, or even a flying crayfish when they see their first one, This species is a Hummingbird clearwing moth
www.chicagowilderness.org/CW_Archives/issues/summer2008/m...