Archilochus colubris                                               Photo Bill Chitty ©

The ruby-throated hummingbird is Florida’s smallest bird and, its only ‘hummer.’ These delightful little birds are common in woodlands, parks, and urban gardens, and readily attracted to feeders. Both sexes are metallic green on top of the head and upperparts, but the male has a shining deep red throat. Females are pale on the undersides with a white throat.

Ruby-throated humming birds breed from May through June. Females lay two eggs in a tiny nest built of plant material, lichen, and spider silk, attached to the end of a small horizontal limb.

Humming birds feed mainly on nectar in tubular-shaped flowers, hovering in front of flowers while inserting their long tongue into the tube. Some hummingbirds stay year-round in south Florida, but farther north they usually leave in October for Central America, returning in March.

top of page | back to birds