Bird Description

Common summer visitor to wooded areas, parks, and gardens. Fairly common winter visitor in SE, rare elsewhere. With global warming, plentiful feeders and late-blooming sage, its range is expanding n. and a few attempt to winter as far n. as the Canadian border. Easy to attract with flowers and feeders and also eats insects. ID: Small and compact with medium-length bill. Ad ?: brilliant ruby throat typically looks black. Dark green breast sides and flanks. White spot behind eye and black forked tail. Ad ?: tail shorter than ? and square-ended. Lacks ruby throat, underparts white with less extensive green on breast sides and only a few green flecks on throat. Juv: similar to adult ? with buff fringes to upperpart feathers, these wear off through winter. Imm ?: heavily spotted throat with iridescent 'ruby' feathers increasing through winter. Imm ?: throat mostly unmarked. Some birds are orange-buff on breast sides, recalling Selasphorus.