RUFOUS-HUMMINGBIRD ENJOYING NECTAR IN THE SPRING OF 2023
These are considered one of the feistiest hummingbird in North America. The brilliant orange male and the green-and-orange female Rufous Hummingbird are relentless attackers at flowers and feeders, going after even the large hummingbirds of the Southwest, which can be double their weight. Rufous Hummingbirds are wide-ranging, and breed farther north than any other hummingbird. Look for them in spring in California, summer in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and fall in the Rocky Mountains as they make their annual circuit of the West.
Rufous Hummingbird
These Rufous hummingbirds are a small hummingbird, about 8 cm long with a long, straight and slender bill. These birds are known for their extraordinary flight skills, flying 2,000 mi during their migratory transits.
The male Rufous, glowing like new copper penny, often defends a patch of flowers in a mountain meadow, vigorously chasing away all intruders (including larger birds).
The Rufous also nests farther north than any other hummingbird: up to south-central Alaska. Of the various typically western hummingbirds, this is the one that wanders most often to eastern North America, with many now found east of the Mississippi every fall and winter.