Are Ruby Throated Hummingbirds Endangered

You might be familiar with some of the more common species in north america like the ruby throated and rufous hummingbirds.

Are ruby throated hummingbirds endangered.

There are 320 species of hummingbirds but only 14 breed in north america and one can be found breeding east of the mississippi river. The ruby throated hummingbird weighs less than a nickel and like all hummingbird species including the calliope and rufous it is a master of flight beating its wings 60 to 80 times a second this tiny sprite creates a blur of motion and a whirring insect like sound. Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird.

That would be the ruby throated hummingbird. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens. To get there from their north american breeding grounds some birds embark on a marathon nonstop flight across the gulf of mexico. Hundreds of kinds of hummingbirds nest in the american tropics and more than a dozen in the western u s but east of the great plains there is only the ruby throat.

Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. They are the only birds that can hover fly backward and upside down as easily as they fly forward. But there are hundreds of species in the americas from alaska to tierra del fuego. Hummingbirds are oklahoma s smallest birds and are unique in many respects.

There are an estimated 7 million ruby throated hummingbirds in the world and they are classified as least concern by the international union for conservation of nature iucn and the ecos environmental conservation online system does not list them as endangered at all. They get their name from the brilliant red throats of the adult males. Ruby throats are very attracted to the color red. It is also listed in appendix ii of the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna of 1975 cites.

Ruby throated hummingbirds winter in mexico and central america. The ruby throated hummingbird archilochus colubris is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in central america mexico and florida and migrates to canada and other parts of eastern north america for the summer to breed. These brilliant tiny precision flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the mississippi river in north america.

Impressive migrants despite their small size some ruby throats may. Of the four species of hummingbirds known to visit oklahoma the ruby throated is the most widespread.