- Selasphorus rufus
Identification
3.75 in (9.5 cm)
Adult male
- Rufous crown, tail, and sides; back bright coppery rufous, occasionally with some green
- Orange-red gorget
- White breast
Adult female
- Green back and crown
- White breast
- Streaked throat often with a small central gorget
- Rufous sides and base of tail feathers
- White tips on outer tail feathers
Similar Species
Almost identical to Allen's Hummingbird, the male of which has a green back, but does not share much range. The females are very similar to female Allen's Hummingbirds and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.
Distribution
Western United States and Canada in mountainous areas. Sometimes strays into eastern U.S. Winters in mostly Central America, but banding research has shown that more and more are wintering in the southern USA from Texas east to Florida.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Open areas and forest edges. Gardens on wintering grounds in the south of the USA.
Behaviour
Feisty, will often chase other hummers, specially while defending a food source - be it hummingbird feeder or flowering plants.
Diet
Their diet consists of nectar and insects. They are able to survive in sub-freezing temperatures if food is available, they have changed migration patterns to take advantage of feeding stations.
Breeding
The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or conifer.
Gallery
Click on images to enlarge
Immature male
Photo by janruss
Edmonds Washington, USA, August 2006
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- hummzinger
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rufous Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous_Hummingbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1