Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Photo by lwolfartist on Wikimedia

Archilochus colubris

Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds are the most common hummingbird in the Eastern United States, and until I moved to Kansas, I had never seen one. Don’t get me wrong, I had seen lots of other species. California is a year-round home to quite a few species. But the hummingbird you see on greeting cards, shirts, and whatever else they put hummingbird pictures on was a mystery to me.

The first one I saw was pointed out during a bird walk. It was a little bump on a wire. She was so small, I could barely find her with my binoculars. No one else was impressed, but I was super excited. Another instance of something so common that no one notices them anymore, and I had never seen one.

Luckily, that was the first of many. One of our facilities guys at work hung a feeder outside the window in the main office, so I get to see them all the time. I watch them chasing each other off, hunting for little bugs, and yawning. Have you ever seen a hummingbird yawn? It is ridiculously cute!

In case you need a refresher, they are green with a white chest, and the males have a red gorget that flashes in the sunlight. The females have a light chin with dark around their eyes that looks like eyeliner connecting to their beak.
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Kansas does not see hummingbirds year-round. They are all starting to make their way to Southern Mexico and Central America for winter. I’ll miss them, but I find comfort in the fact that I will get to see them again in the spring. 

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