Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)

Rufous Hummingbird
Photograph by Dean E. Biggins, Fish and Wildlife Service. License: Public Domain. (view image details)

Rufous Hummingbird | Selasphorus rufus photo

Rufous Hummingbird hovering.
Photograph by Ryan Bushby. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD FACTS

Description
The Rufous Hummingbird is a small hummingbird with a long, straight slender bill. The male is reddish brown with a white breast and an iridescent orange-red throat patch. Some males have some green on the back and/or head. The female is green above with white underside and some iridescent orange feathers on the throat, and a dark tail with white tip.

Size
8cm-9cm

Environment
forest clearings, forest edges, open areas

Food
feeds on nectar from flowers using their long extendable tongue. Also catches insects on the wing.

Breeding
The female builds a cup-shaped nest in a shrub or conifer.

Range
western North America from southern Alaska to California. Breeds further north than any other hummingbird. They migrate to the Mexico state of Guerrero in winter. There has been a recent trend for them to migrate to Florida in winter, this is the result of people providing artificial feeders in gardens that has assisted their survival.

Classification

Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Genus:	Selasphorus
Species:	rufus
Common Name:	Rufous Hummingbird

Relatives in same Genus
  Volcano Hummingbird (S. flammula)
  Broad-tailed Hummingbird (S. platycercus)
  Allen's Hummingbird (S. sasin)
  Scintillant Hummingbird (S. scintilla)

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