The adult male rufous has a white breast with greenish back and crown. The back is sometimes glossed with metallic bronze-green. The pileum (the top of the head from the bill to the nape) is bronze-green, and the gorget (collar) is bright orange-red. The chin and throat is a shiny metallic scarlet color. The bill is long, straight, thin, black or dark brown in color. The feet are a dusky color. The adult female rufous has a metallic bronze-green back, and the pileum is a little duller than the male rufous. From the chin and the throat, down to the breast of the female, is a dull white color. Rufous Hummingbird has a body length of about 7.3 to 9.1 cm (2.87 to 3.58 in), and weighs around 2.8 g to 4.0 g (0.097 to 0.141 Oz). Unlike other birds that have large sound-producing muscles extending from the windpipe to the chest bone,the rufous has two sets of small vocal muscles in the trachea (Johnsgard 1983; Toops 1992; Sayre 1999).
Range mass: 2.8 to 4 g.
Average mass: 3.37 g.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Average basal metabolic rate: 0.06853 W.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 107 months.
During breeding season, Rufous Hummingbirds are found in forests, on seed-tree harvest units, riparian shrub, and spruce-fir habitats. During the winter, it lives wherever flowers are present. It migrates to lowland stream bottoms, foothill brush land, seacoast and high mountain meadows (Johnsgard 1983; Paige et al. 1999).
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; mountains
The Rufous Hummingbird typically flaps its wings 50 times per second, and when it dives to mate, it can flap its wings 200 times per second (Toops 1992; Chloe 1999).
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
This widespread, abundant species is in no immediate danger of extinction. It is, like all hummingbirds, protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act and in CITES Appendix II.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Unknown
Rufous Hummingbirds play an important role in pollinating at least 129 plant species (Paige et al. 1999).
The Rufous Hummingbird consumes flies, ants, small beetles, tiny wasps and other small insects for a source of protein. Nectar is its most important food source for energy. It also drinks sap from the holes made by the Red-naped Sapsuckers for an extra food source. It feeds on nectar from several different flowering plants, such as honeysuckle, scarlet sage, horsemint, and black locust. This hummingbird is attracted to red and tubular flowers, preferring flowers that are spread farther apart giving it needed space for the beat of its wings. It eats about 1/2 to about 3 times its body weight. The Rufous Hummingbird feeds on nectar a minimum of sixty times a day. It consumes numerous small meals instead of a few big meals. It consumes nectar from flowering plants with its fork-like tongue at 13 licks per second ( Johnsgard 1983; Toops 1992; Chloe 1999; Sayre 1999; Gates and Gates 2000).
Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, is found in western and coastal North America from March through August, and migrates to Mexico in the winter months of October through February (Johnsgard 1983).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
The breeding season for the Rufous Hummingbird begins in April and ends in July. The peak of the season usually occurs in May. The male will mate with several females during the breeding season. The male arrives at the desired breeding territory 2 to 3 weeks before the females. He attracts the female by climbing high into the air (20 to 45 m (75 to 150 ft)) then diving toward the female, pulling out of the dive and arcing back up into the sky after bottoming out within 2 or 3 inches of the female. During this mating display his wings are flapping at a rate of 200 wing beats per second, which creates the unique metallical "buzzing" sound heard during these displays. The female signals acceptance of the male as a mate by displaying the white tips of her tail. Copulation lasts only 3 to 5 seconds (Johnsgard 1983; Toops 1992; Chloe 1999).
The female builds her nest in blackberry vines, huckleberry bushes and other well protected overgrowths. Nests are built of mosses, leaves, and lichens woven together with spider webs. Rufous Hummingbirds usually lay two eggs about 1.3 cm (1/2 in) in size. The eggs take anywhere from 12 to 14 days to hatch, and the young leave the nest about 1 week after hatching. The female fiercely defends her nest from predators, while the male plays no role in defending or raising the young. (Johnsgard 1983; Toops 1992; Chloe 1999).
Range time to hatching: 12 to 14 days.
Average fledging age: 7 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Average eggs per season: 2.
The rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm (3.1 in) long with a long, straight and slender bill. These birds are known for their extraordinary flight skills, flying 2,000 mi (3,200 km) during their migratory transits. It is one of nine species in the genus Selasphorus.
The rufous hummingbird was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus and coined the binomial name Trochilus rufus.[3] Gmelin based his description on the Ruff-necked humming-bird that had been described by John Latham in 1782 and the Ruffed honeysucker that had been described by Thomas Pennant in 1785.[4][5] The type locality is Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in western Canada.[6] The rufous hummingbird is now placed with eight other species in the genus Selasphorus that was introduced in 1832 by the English naturalist William John Swainson.[7][8] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek selas meaning "light" or "flame" with -phoros meaning "-carrying". The specific epithet rufus is the Latin word for "red".[9] The species is considered as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[8]
The adult male has a white breast, rufous face, flanks and tail and an iridescent orange-red throat patch or gorget. Some males have some green on their back and/or crown. The female has green, white, and some iridescent orange feathers in the center of the throat, and a dark tail with white tips and rufous base.
The female is slightly larger than the male. Females and the rare green-backed males are extremely difficult to differentiate from Allen's hummingbird. The typical "notched" shape of the second rectrix (R2) is considered an important field mark to distinguish the adult male rufous hummingbird from the adult male Allen's hummingbird.[10] This is a typical-sized hummingbird, being a very small bird. It weighs 2–5 g (0.071–0.176 oz), measures 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long and spans 11 cm (4.3 in) across the wings.[11]
Western rufous hummingbirds migrate through the Rocky Mountains and nearby lowlands from May to September to take advantage of the wildflower season. They may stay in one local region for the entire summer, in which case the migrants, like breeding birds, often aggressively take over and defend feeding locations. Most winter in wooded areas in the Mexican state of Guerrero, traveling over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) by an overland route from its nearest summer home – a prodigious journey for a bird weighing only 3 to 4 g.[12]
Adult male rufous hummingbirds tend to migrate slightly earlier than females or young.[13] Since juveniles or females are essentially indistinguishable from Allen's hummingbirds unless confirmed by close inspection, eastern rufous migrants may be classified as "rufous/Allen's hummingbirds".[11]
They feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and become torpid at night to conserve energy. Because of their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals.
A study that used digital imaging velocimetry to look at wing movements found that the rufous hummingbird supports its body weight during hovering primarily by wing downstrokes (75% of lift) rather than by upstrokes (25% of lift).[14][15] When hovering during fasting, rufous hummingbirds oxidize fatty acids to support metabolism and food energy requirements, but can rapidly switch to carbohydrate metabolism (within 40 minutes) after feeding on flower nectar.[16]
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Both males and females are territorial; however, they defend different types of territories.[17] The more aggressive males fight to defend areas with dense flowers, pushing females into areas with more sparsely populated flowers.[17] Males generally have shorter wings than females, therefore their metabolic cost for hovering is higher. This allows males to beat their wings at high frequencies, giving them the ability to chase and attack other birds to defend their territory.[17] The metabolic cost of short wings is compensated for by the fact that these males do not need to waste energy foraging for food, because their defended territory provides plenty of sustenance.[18] Females on the other hand are not given access to the high concentration food sources, because the males fight them off.[17] Therefore, females generally defend larger territories, where flowers are more sparsely populated, forcing them to fly farther between food sources.[17] The metabolic cost of flying farther is compensated for with longer wings providing more efficient flight for females.[17] The differences in wing length demonstrate a distinct sexual dimorphism, allowing each sex to best exploit resources in an area.
Their primary breeding habitats are open areas, mountainsides and forest edges in western North America from southern Alaska through British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest to California,[11] nesting further north (Alaska) than any other hummingbird. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or conifer. Males are promiscuous, mating with several females.[11]
In 2018, the rufous hummingbird was uplisted from least concern to near threatened on the IUCN Red List, on the basis that due to its reliance on insect prey during the wintering season, it will be heavily affected by the global decline in insect populations due to pesticides and intensified agriculture.[19] Due to climate change, many flowers that the rufous hummingbird feeds on during the breeding season have started blooming two weeks prior to the birds' arrival to their breeding locations, which may lead to rufous hummingbirds arriving too late to feed on them.[19]
Slow-motion video of rufous hummingbird attacking Anna's hummingbird at feeder. Video taken at 2000 fps, or about 1⁄67 of real-time.
Rufous hummingbird feeding in slow motion at 2000 fps or 1⁄67 of real-time.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) The rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm (3.1 in) long with a long, straight and slender bill. These birds are known for their extraordinary flight skills, flying 2,000 mi (3,200 km) during their migratory transits. It is one of nine species in the genus Selasphorus.
