Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) spends the summers in eastern North America and Canada where it breeds once or twice. Chances are this bird will visit your yard in search of food. After mating, the female builds a 1.5-inch nest to house the two jellybean-sized eggs. During this time, the male searches for another female. After eighteen days, eggs hatch and the young will fledge after another twenty-one days. In North Carolina all young birds leave the nest by mid- August and begin migration in October.

These migratory birds return to Southern Mexico and Central America for the winter. Migrations are hazardous for the Hummingbirds, especially the first trip because of the many natural and man-made obstacles they face on their journey. Extreme weather, ecosystem modification/destruction, high-rise physical obstacles, and predation require careful management along the way. Therefore, their life expectancy is limited to three to five years under favorable circumstances.

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