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Hi Everybody!!
Welcome to my Hometown!!
Showing posts with label ruby throated hummingbirds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruby throated hummingbirds. Show all posts

Saturday, October 12, 2013

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD MIGRATION AT (KATES CABIN BIRD SANCTUARY IN TEXAS)



Hi Everybody!!
September is the peak month for the Fall Migration of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (at this location in Texas). Tonight we will finish the photostudies for the 29 and 30 of September. We had a good rain on the 29th all over South Texas. Within 24 hours new flowers will pop out like snack bars along the Migration Route to Mexico. Some of the bird's favorites respond quickly to rain as: Morning Glories, Trumpet Flowers, Turk's Cap and Bougainvillea which they will find all the way to Mexico if they take the land route. Many birds still fly over the Gulf, non stop. The big herd of birds left on the 21-22 (and most of the bees). More birds came in for the last week in September, and more bees! Enjoy as it is almost over-  



Below are the links to the new albums I created in my G+ Photo Album Gallery. Click on the link to go to the photostudies for each album:

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link 1:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931628629045218625





29
link 2:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931631194344164305





29
link 3:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931633960855353249






30
link 4:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931638947857190097





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link 5:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931640419982853105





30
link 6:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931646580329356417





30
link 7

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5931649250793657105



More Info. at the Google Search Index:

  1. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell ...

    www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruby-throated_hummingbird/id‎


    Learn how to identify Ruby-throated Hummingbird, its life history, cool facts, sounds and calls, and watch videos. A flash of green and red, the Ruby-throated ...
    ‎Skip to Content - ‎Skip to Main Navigation - ‎Skip to Local Navigation - ‎Skip to Search

  2.

    Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Life History, All About Birds - Cornell ...

    www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruby-throated_hummingbird/lifehistory‎


    Learn how to identify Ruby-throated Hummingbird, its life history, cool facts, sounds and calls, and watch videos. A flash of green and red, the Ruby-throated ...

  3.

    Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird‎


    The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a species of hummingbird. As with all hummingbirds, this species belongs to the Trochilidae family ...
    ‎Description - ‎Habitat and range - ‎Behavior - ‎Flight
    You've visited this page many times. Last visit: 9/27/13

  4.

    Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Hummingbirds.net

    www.hummingbirds.net/rubythroated.html‎


    Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is by far the most common species that breeds in the eastern half of North ...

  5.

    Ruby-Throated Hummingbird - National Geographic

    animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/ruby-throat-hummingbird/‎


    Learn all you wanted to know about ruby-throated hummingbirds with pictures, videos, photos, facts, and news from National Geographic.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a species ofhummingbird.
As with all hummingbirds, this species belongs to the Trochilidae family and is currently included in the Apodiformes order. This small animal is the only species of hummingbird that regularly nests east of the Mississippi River in North America.
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Apodiformes[2]
Family:Trochilidae
Genus:Archilochus
Species:A. colubris
Binomial name
Archilochus colubris
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Green: summer-only range
Blue: winter-only range
Yellow: migratory path

Description[edit]


Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the smallest bird species that breeds in theEastern United States and Eastern Canada, though is a roughly medium-sized species by hummingbird standards. This hummingbird is from 7 to 9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 in) long and has a 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in) wingspan. Weight can range from 2 to 6 g (0.071 to 0.21 oz), with males averaging 3.4 g (0.12 oz) against the slightly larger female which averages 3.8 g (0.13 oz).[3][4] Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below, with near-black wings. Their bill, at up to 2 cm (0.79 in), is long, straight and very slender. As in all hummingbirds, the toes and feet of this species are quite small, with a middle toe of around 0.6 cm (0.24 in) and atarsus of approximately 0.4 cm (0.16 in). The Ruby-throated Hummingbird can only shuffle if it wants to move along a branch, though it can scratch its head and neck with its feet.[5][6]
The species is sexually dimorphic.[7] The adult male, shown in the photo, has a ruby red throat patch (also known as a gorget) which may appear black in some lighting, and a dark forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and generally no throat patch, though she may sometimes have a light or whitish throat patch. The male is smaller than the female, and has a slightly shorter bill. A molt of feathers occurs once a year, and begins during the autumn migration.

Habitat and range[edit]


Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Gadsden Co., Florida

Male ruby-throated hummingbird on branch
The breeding habitat is throughout most of eastern North America and the Canadianprairies, in deciduous and pine forests and forest edges, orchards, and gardens. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or a tree. Of all North American hummingbirds, this species has the largest breeding range.[5]
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is migratory, spending most of the winter in southern Mexico, Central America as far south as South America[citation needed], and the West Indies. It breeds throughout the eastern United States, east of the 100th meridian, and in southern Canada in eastern and mixed deciduous forest.[8] In winter, it is seen mostly in Mexico.

Behavior[edit]

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are solitary. Adults of this species are not social, other than during courtship (which lasts a few minutes); the female also cares for her offspring. Both males and females of any age are aggressive towards other hummingbirds. They may defend territories, such as a feeding territory, attacking and chasing other hummingbirds that enter. In late summer to early fall they fatten up for migration. This is important because, as part of their migration, they must fly across the Gulf of Mexico. This feat is impressive, as a 800 km (500 mi), non-stop flight over water would seemingly require a caloric energy that far exceeds an adult hummingbird's body weight of 3 g (0.11 oz). However, researchers discovered the tiny birds can increase their body mass up to double with lean mass in preparation for their Gulf crossing. The additional mass, stored as fat, provides enough energy for the birds to achieve the flight.
They feed frequently while active during the day. When temperatures drop, particularly on cold nights, they may conserve energy by entering hypothermic torpor.

Flight[edit]

Hummingbirds have many skeletal and flight muscle adaptations which allow the bird great agility in flight. Muscles make up 25–30% of their body weight, and they have long, blade-like wings that, unlike the wings of other birds, connect to the body only from the shoulder joint. This adaptation allows the wing to rotate almost 180°, enabling the bird to fly not only forward but fly backwards, and to hover in front of flowers as it feeds on nectar, or hovers mid-air to catch tiny insects. Hummingbirds are the only known birds that can fly backwards.
During hovering, (and likely other modes of flight) ruby-throated hummingbird wings beat 55 times per second.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Archilochus colubris.
Wikispecies has information related to: Archilochus colubris

Male Ruby-Throated hummingbird guarding his territory from the top of a tomato stake. He will chase off any other hummingbirds that try to feed in his area.


Thanks to G+AutoAwesomeBackUp for creating the following Highlight Clips for these new albums.
With the posting of these pics, we have finished September 2013!!! Most of the Migration is finished at Rainbow Creek. There are still a few surprises for October (tomorrow). Stay Tuned!


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...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek.  See You next time!

O+O
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

JEWELED, IRIDESCENT GORGETS ARE APPEARING IN THE TREES LIKE RED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! (A HUMMING PHOTO BLOG)


Hi Everybody!!
More guests arrived today! There are mini blinking red lights flashing through the sky around here. Only the male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird has the gorget jewels. Only the males are here. The females come later with the kids (about 10 days to 2 weeks). Now, the current info on the species reveals these are solitary birds who defend territory from other males and they do not help the females with the babies. However, my observations are different and in time as more knowledge is accumulated about these tiny birds, it will show that they are very social birds (especially) during the travel times (migration). I would go out on a limb and say there is more bonding between the males of this species than with the females! They travel together, eat together and sleep together. They do fight and guard their 'own' feeders, but I have never seen a dead one from all the battles. I have seen a fierce battle between 2 males and then watch them land side by side on a branch and hangout together. I think alot of the aggressive behavior is just play, because they buzz me too. Time will tell. It is great to see them coming in year after year. I know why Mom loved them so.  I also know as I am happy now, I will cry in October when they fly away again. That is just how it is. We must all fly away one day. Enjoy these red light boys!










http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorget_(bird)

Gorget (bird)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Like many hummingbirds, the maleCosta's Hummingbird has an iridescent gorget.
A gorget is a patch of colored feathers found on the throat or upper breast of some species of birds.[1] It is a feature found on many male hummingbirds, particularly those found in North America; these gorgets are typically iridescent.[2] Other species, such as the Purple-throated Fruitcrow[3] and Chukar Partridge, also show the feature.[4] The term is derived from the gorgetused in military armor to protect the throat.
Feather wear and exposure to the sun can produce changes in the apparent color of iridescent gorget feathers. For example, fresh gorget feathers on the Anna's Hummingbird are rose red; these fade to a coppery bronzy color with age.[5]

Functions[edit source | editbeta]

A number of social functions have been suggested for the gorget. It may aid in mate attraction or in resource defense. It may signal social status or allow species to identify conspecifics.[6] Among hummingbirds, gorgets are typically found only on males. In the rare instances where they are found on females, they appear to serve primarily for signaling threats.[7]
Young hummingbirds, which need to intrude on adult territories to feed once they have fledged, all lack gorgets. This may help to make them less visible or less threatening to adult birds.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent

Iridescence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is generally known as the property of certain surfaces that appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, butterflywings and sea shells.

Description[edit source | editbeta]

Further information: Structural coloration
Iridescence is an optical phenomenon of surfaces in which hue changes in correspondence with the angle from which a surface is viewed.
Iridescence is often caused by multiple reflections from two or more semi-transparent surfaces in which phase shift and interference of the reflections modulates the incidental light (by amplifying or attenuating some frequencies more than others).[1] This process, termed thin-film interference, is the functional analog of selective wavelength attenuation as seen with the Fabry–Pérot interferometer.
In biological (and biomimetic) uses, colours are traditionally produced with pigments, so colours produced other than by pigment are called structural coloration. The use of often multilayered microstructures usually also produces iridescence, as quite elaborate arrangements are needed to avoid reflecting different colours in different directions. Structural coloration has been understood in general terms since Robert Hooke's 1665 book Micrographia.[2][3]

Chordates[edit source | editbeta]

The feathers of some birds, such as kingfishers, hummingbirds, parrots, crows, ravens, starlings, grackles, ducks, and peacocks are often iridescent. The tapetum lucidum, present in the eyes of many vertebrates, may also be iridescent.

  • A peacock has iridescent tail feathers
    Please see above link for complete article




























 (Not a hummingbird !  This is a baby titmouse !

















































...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek.  See You next time! I hope your yard is lighting up with the mini red lights! (If not, I will share!) Love to All-






This Post is dedicated to the Loving Memory of my Cousin Harry, who died on the 18th after his 87th birthday. He loved the Hummingbirds and came every year with his wife to see them at Kates Cabin which he also loved. He was the last person on this Planet who knew me from the day I was born 62.5 years ago. That is a long time to know someone. I knew him longer than Mom or Dad. Anyway, I had just told him that the hummers made it back again this year. They are coming in like little jets with red blinking lights. He was happy to hear all about them and that I am still photographing the tiny ones. That night he left in his sleep. Please wish him well on his new journey. I am sure I will catch up with him again!
o+o
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