![]() ![]() It is a rare breeder in southern coastal British Columbia. The purplish-red throat patch of the male extends down the sides of the neck as well as onto the crown of the head. It resembles the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but the male’s gorget is deep violet changing to black.Īnna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna is the largest hummer in Canada. The Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri is a scarce breeder in the southern interior of British Columbia. The female is bronze-green above and has a few dusky streaks on the throat and buffy brown sides. The male is shiny green above with a purplish streaky-looking gorget. It breeds in the interior of British Columbia, east into the mountains of southwestern Alberta, and wanders rarely into southwestern Saskatchewan. The Calliope Hummingbird Stellula calliope is the smallest bird in Canada. The female is bronze-green above, with reddish brown areas on flanks and tail and sometimes a small red and green spot on the throat. The cinnamon-red male has a shiny green patch on top of the head and a scarlet gorget, or throat patch, that sometimes appears black. It ranges, rarely, as far north as southwestern Yukon and as far east as southwestern Saskatchewan. It breeds in British Columbia north through the Queen Charlotte Islands and northwest to the Alaska border, and east to southwestern Alberta. Most common is the Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus. It ranges westward through southern Manitoba, central Saskatchewan, and central and southeastern Alberta. It inhabits Nova Scotia (including Cape Breton Island), New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, southern Quebec, and Ontario north to Lake Nipigon and Lake of the Woods. Of these, only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is found in the east. Back to top RangeĬanada has five species of hummingbirds. Scientists have been able to establish the rate of the wingbeats, by means of high-speed photography, at about 55 to 75 beats a second. Its pointed wings appear to be a blur in flight. Unlike other birds, it can hover in place in the air. ![]() It manoeuvres at incredible speed, rapidly changing direction in the air and darting away like a tiny green arrow. The most remarkable feature about the hummingbird is its flight. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s minute size, its skilful flight, and its migration set it apart among birds. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is persistent and continues to worry the intruder until it has had enough and flees. ![]() Both flight patterns are accompanied by high squeaky notes, and the bird’s wings hum like an angry bumblebee. In another, the bird swings vertically up and down like a pendulum. In one, the bird makes a speedy dash, describing a horizontal U, from side to side around the intruder’s ears. It employs certain flight patterns in these aggressive displays. The tiny bird uses speed and the hum of its wings to intimidate intruders. ![]() These encounters lead to persistent swift pursuits that sometimes develop into fighting. Because these food sources are of great importance, the area may be shared by other males as well as females.īoth the males and the females aggressively defend their food supply and its surroundings against intruders. When the male hummingbird arrives in the spring from the wintering grounds in Central America, he establishes a territory containing several sources of food. At great accelerations the hum sometimes turns into a continuous high note, similar to that produced by arrows or bullets in flight. The hummingbird’s rapid wing motion produces a distinct hum-hence the bird’s name-which rises and falls according to the wing speed. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s bill is long, straight, and almost as slender as a darning needle. These she often displays when posturing and in flight. Her tail is rounded, and some of the outer tail feathers are marked with white spots. The female is similar but has a greyish-white throat patch. He wears a splendid gorget, or throat patch, of silky, ruby red feathers, which sometimes appear orange, or even jet black, depending on the light. The male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is shiny metallic green above, greyish white below, and has a forked tail. No larger than a good-sized insect, it is often confused with hawk moths, especially at dusk, as these moths are similar in size, form, and flight. From the tip of its bill to the tip of its tail it measures from 7.5 cm to slightly more than 9 cm. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris is the most common and widely distributed of the hummingbirds in Canada. ![]()
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