Are Ruby Throated Hummingbirds Endangered

Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer.

Are ruby throated hummingbirds endangered.

To get there from their north american breeding grounds some birds embark on a marathon nonstop flight across the gulf of mexico. Hummingbirds are oklahoma s smallest birds and are unique in many respects. Impressive migrants despite their small size some ruby throats may. You might be familiar with some of the more common species in north america like the ruby throated and rufous hummingbirds.

Hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar it beats its wings more than 50 times per second. These brilliant tiny precision flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. However continuing climate change affecting their migration patterns and. Of the four species of hummingbirds known to visit oklahoma the ruby throated is the most widespread.

That would be the ruby throated hummingbird. They are the only birds that can hover fly backward and upside down as easily as they fly forward. They get their name from the brilliant red throats of the adult males. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the mississippi river in north america.

The ruby throated hummingbird weighs less than a nickel and like all hummingbird species including the calliope and rufous it is a master of flight beating its wings 60 to 80 times a second this tiny sprite creates a blur of motion and a whirring insect like sound. But there are hundreds of species in the americas from alaska to tierra del fuego. Ruby throats are very attracted to the color red. There are 320 species of hummingbirds but only 14 breed in north america and one can be found breeding east of the mississippi river.

A flash of green and red the ruby throated hummingbird is eastern north america s sole breeding hummingbird. There are an estimated 7 million ruby throated hummingbirds in the world and they are classified as least concern by the international union for conservation of nature iucn and the ecos environmental conservation online system does not list them as endangered at all. There it is fairly common in summer in open woods and gardens. Hundreds of kinds of hummingbirds nest in the american tropics and more than a dozen in the western u s but east of the great plains there is only the ruby throat.

Maintaining and protecting habitats and nectar plants along the migration route of the ruby throated hummingbird should help to promote healthy populations of this beautiful bird well into the future. Found only in the americas hummingbirds are distinguished by their dazzling colors diminutive size and speedy flight.