Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird male

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Rufous Hummingbird, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A common breeding bird of the Northwest, from northern California to Alaska, the Rufous Hummingbird breeds farther north than any other species of hummingbird in the world. Very aggressive at feeders, it is the western hummingbird most likely to turn up at feeders in the eastern United States.

Description

• Tiny bird, small and compact hummingbird.
• Extensive rusty coloration in most plumages.
• Male with iridescent red throat and non-shiny reddish back.

• Size: 7-9 cm (3-4 in)
• Wingspan: 11 cm (4 in)
• Weight: 2-5 g (0.07-0.18 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with red throat; female throat white with a few red feathers. Male extensively orange on back and body, female with green back and head. Male's tail orange with pointed black tips, female's tail orange, green and black with rounded white tips.

Sound

Does not sing. Calls buzzy; also sharp chips. Wings of adult male make a high, buzzy trill.

Conservation Status

Declining over most of range. Listed on the Audubon Watchlist.

Other Names

Colibrí roux (French)
Chupamirto dorado, Colibri colica (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Rufous Hummingbird is a common visitor to hummingbird feeders. It is extremely territorial at all times of the year, and will aggressively attempt to drive away all other hummingbirds, including much larger species.

• The Rufous Hummingbird makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the world, as measured by body size. Its 3,900 mi (6,276 km) movement from Alaska to Mexico is equivalent to 784,500 body lengths. In comparison, the 11,185 mi (18,000 km) flight of the Arctic Tern is only 514,286 body lengths.

• The Rufous Hummingbird has an excellent memory for location, no doubt assisting it to find flowers from day to day, or even from year to year. Some birds have been seen returning from migration and investigating where a feeder was the previous year, even though the feeder was currently absent.

Sources used to construct this page:

Calder, W. A. 1993. Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). In The Birds of North America, No. 53 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.