Colibri à gorge rubis

Identification

This hummingbird is from 7 to 9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 in) long and has an 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in) wingspan. Weight can range from 2 to 6 g (0.071 to 0.212 oz), with males averaging 3.4 g (0.12 oz) against the slightly larger female which averages 3.8 g (0.13 oz). Adults are metallic green above and grayish white below, with near-black wings. Their bill, at up to 2 cm (0.79 in), is long, straight, and slender. <p>Hummingbird legs are short with no knees, and have feet with three toes pointing forward and one backward – the hallux. The toes are formed as claws (image) with ridged inner surfaces to aid gripping onto flower stems or petals.The middle toe is around 0.6 cm (0.24 in). The ruby-throated hummingbird can only shuffle to move along a branch, though it can scratch its head and neck with its feet.<p>The species is sexually dimorphic. The adult male has a gorget (throat patch) of iridescent ruby red bordered narrowly with velvety black on the upper margin and a forked black tail with a faint violet sheen. The red iridescence is highly directional and appears dull black from many angles. The female has a notched tail with outer feathers banded in green, black, and white and a white throat that may be plain or lightly marked with dusky streaks or stipples. Males are smaller than females and have slightly shorter bills. Juvenile males resemble adult females, though usually with heavier throat markings. The plumage is molted once a year on the wintering grounds, beginning in early fall and ending by late winter.<p>As of 2021, there were 34-36 million ruby-throated hummingbirds over their eastern North American breeding range, making this species the most populous of North American hummingbirds. Despite substantial population growth from 1970 through the early 21st century, numbers of ruby-throated birds declined by 17% over the census reported in 2021. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species in 2023, ruby-throated hummingbirds are listed as least-concern for risk of extinction, while numerous other common North American hummingbirds are in significant decline.<p>The vocalizations of ruby-throated hummingbirds are rapid, squeaky chirps, which are used primarily for threats. For example, males may vocalize to warn another male that has entered his territory.<p>During the courtship displays, the male makes a rapid tik-tik tik-tik tik-tik sound with his wings. The sound is produced both during the shuttle display, at each end of the side-to-side flight. Also, the sound is made during dive displays. A second, rather faint, repeated whining sound is sometimes produced with the outer tail-feathers during the dive, as the male flies over the female, spreading and shutting the tail as he does so.

Taxonomie

The ruby-throated hummingbird was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Trochilus colubris. Linnaeus based his description on the earlier account by Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that had been published in 1729 and that by George Edwards in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds that had been published in 1743. The type locality is South Carolina. The specific epithet colubris is from the Spanish colibrí meaning "hummingbird". The ruby-throated hummingbird is now placed in the genus Archilochus that was introduced in 1854 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

Nom scientifique

Archilochus colubris

Autorité

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Ordre

Caprimulgiformes

Famille

Trochilidés

Genre

Archilochus

Répartition et habitat

The breeding habitat is throughout most of the Eastern United States and south-central and southeastern Canada in deciduous and pine forests and forest edges, orchards, and gardens. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or a tree. Of all hummingbirds in the United States, this species has the largest breeding range.<p>The ruby-throated hummingbird is migratory, spending most of the winter in Florida, southern Mexico and Central America, as far south as extreme western Panama, and the West Indies. During migration, some birds embark on a nonstop 900-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean from Panama or Mexico to the eastern United States. The bird breeds throughout the eastern United States, east of the 100th meridian, and in southern Canada, particularly Ontario, in eastern and mixed deciduous and broadleaved forest. In winter, it is seen mostly in Mexico and Florida.<p>During migration southward in autumn along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, older male and female birds were better prepared for long-distance flight than first-year birds by having higher body weights and larger fuel loads.

Aire de reproduction

NA : sc, se Canada and c, e USA

Aire hors reproduction

MA

Migration

Migrateurs complets

Comportement

Mode de migration: Migrateurs complets.

Conservation

Tendance de la population: en hausse.

Tendance de la population

en hausse