Rufous hummingbird

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Rufous hummingbird
Selasphorus rufus1.jpg
Adult male
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trochiliformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Selasphorus
Species: S. rufus
Binomial name
Selasphorus rufus
(Gmelin, 1788)



A perched rufous hummingbird.



They feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendible tongue or catch insects on the wing. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and become [torpor|torpid] at night to conserve energy. Because of their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals.




A perched female rufous hummingbird.


This is the western hummingbird most likely to stray into eastern North America. In the United States, there has been an increasing trend for them to migrate southeast to winter in warmer climates like Florida or on the Gulf Coast, rather than in Mexico. They are known to land in the Turks and Caicos Islands. This trend is the result of increased survival with the provision of artificial feeders in gardens. In the past, individuals that migrated eastward toward Canada and the northern USA in error would usually die, but now they often survive as they seem to spend more time in the warm Gulf Coast and Florida. Provided sufficient food and shelter is available, they are surprisingly hardy, able to tolerate temperatures down to at least −20 °C (−4 °F), so they can be seen in late fall in places like the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and upper New England. As winter comes birds in these areas normally head to the warmer Gulf Coast and Florida.

Most hummingbirds that migrate east are juvenile birds and may occasionally be adult females but are very seldom adult males. Since juvenile or female are essentially indistinguishable from Allen's hummingbirds unless they are examined in hand, many of the eastern vagrants are classified as "rufous/Allen's hummingbird". However, a majority are believed to be from the Rufous species.[3]

Research on hummingbird hovering[edit]

Rufous hummingbird photographed on Saltspring Island

In 2005, a research team led by Dr. Douglas Warrick of Oregon State University used trained rufous hummingbirds in a study to determine the mechanics of hummingbird hovering. The study employed digital particle imaging velocimetry to capture the bird’s wing movements on film, which enabled the discovery that the hummingbird’s hovering is achieved due primarily to its wing’s downstroke (which accounts for 75% of its lift) rather than its upstroke (which makes up the additional 25% of the lift).[4][5]


  1. ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Selasphorus rufus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. 
  2. ^ "Rufous Hummingbirds: The Queen of Flying among Migratory Birds". Retrieved 21 April 2014. 
  3. ^ a b "Rufous Hummingbird". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 
  5. ^ McCall, William (2005-06-24). "Study says hummingbirds fly more like birds than insects". Seattle Times/Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-10-30. 

External links[edit]