Hummingbird with throat ruby

The Colibri with throat ruby ( Archilochus colubris ) is a hummingbird of small size: its overall length is of 9 cm.

Description

The adults are green iridescent top and white grisâtre below. They have the nozzle long, right and very thin. The adult male with the iridescent throat, red ruby, and the indented tail. The female has a round tail, sunk with the white end, and does not have a zone coloured on the throat. It is very difficult to distinguish it from the female of the Colibri to black throat. The immature one is similar to the female.

Biology and ecology

This hummingbird niche in the forests caducifoliées and mixed, the parks and the gardens, through most of the East of the the United States and the South of the Canada. The males arrive on the sites of nesting of at the beginning of April at the end of May, a week before the females. The nesting extends until July, exceptionally in August. The bridal parade consists of an elaborate display of air strength during which the male carries out to and from in flight close to the female, describing a half-circle of 2 or 3 meters of ray.

The construction of the nest starts mid-April at the beginning of June, and is carried out mainly by the female into 4 or 5 days. This nest is a cut 2,5 cm in diameter, made up of vegetable elements, lichens and cobwebs; outside is papered lichens and the interior is furnished with vegetable sleeping bag. The nest is placed at 4 or 5 meters in height on a horizontal branch. The males are polygamous, joining usually a female only the time of the parade and the laying. The laying is composed of 2 eggs. It is the female alone which nourishes and takes care of the young people. It often happens that one brooded of replacement takes place if first failed, but the second broods are rare. The male defends with aggressiveness the places of food located in its territory.

This species is migrating and passes most of the winter to the Mexico or in Central America. The hummingbirds attend there a broad range of Forêt S tropical, mainly the dry forests of plain and the secondary forests up to 1.900 m of altitude. The major part of the population follows a migratory road which circumvents the Gulf of Mexico, as well in autumn as at spring.

These birds nourish nectar of about thirty species of flowers thanks to a long extensible language, or capture insects in vol. In certain parts of the surface of wintering, of the individuals arrive whereas the sources of nectar are still rare, and depend on the insects to feed, until flowering associated with the season dries occurs. Even when the flowers nectarifères are available, the insects can represent up to 70% of the winter mode.

Song

Random links: