Everything below is reproduced verbatim from three classic accounts of the ruby-throated hummingbird — Edward Howe Forbush’s Birds of Massachusetts (1927), Major Charles Bendire’s Life Histories of North American Birds (1895) and John James Audubon’s Ornithological Biography (1831) — with nothing of ours added but the headings, the table and this sentence.

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A bird the first settlers had never seen

Haunts and Habits. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is in some respects the most remarkable bird of New England. As Minot says “America may well boast of a treasure which no other country possesses.” When the first settlers landed on these shores, they had never seen a hummingbird. Therefore, some of the chroniclers who set down in ink “true relations” regarding the New Land included the tiny bird among the marvels of the country.

Some of their descriptions are more picturesque than accurate. William Wood, writing in 1634, informs all and sundry that “The Humbird is one of the wonders of the Countrey, being no bigger than a Hornet, yet hath all the demensions of a Bird, as bill, and wings, with quills, spider-like legges, small clawes: For colour she is as glorious as the Raine-bow; as she flies, she makes a little humming noise like a Humble-bee: wherefore shee is called the Humbird.”

How to know it: plumage, size and voice

Forbush’s description — Description. — Adult male: Tail forked, of narrow tapering feathers; above, including middle tail-feathers, golden bronze-green; wings and outer feathers of tail purplish-dusky or slaty; a tiny white spot behind eye; throat metallic, changeable ruby-red; chin and sides of head to below eyes blackish; tuft on either side of rump and on thigh white; rest of under plumage mostly brownish-gray, lightening to whitish or brownish-white on upper breast, and darkening on sides where overlaid by metallic green like that of back; iris dark brown; bill, legs and feet black.

Adult female: Similar to adult male but not so brilliant; tail not forked, but rounded; three outer tail-feathers broadly tipped white; sides of head below eyes dusky; chin, throat and other lower plumage chiefly grayish or whitish. Young male: Similar to adult female, but white-tipped tail often slightly forked, throat streaked with dusky, sometimes with a few ruby feathers, and upper plumage with lighter margins. Young female: Similar to adult female.

His measurements — Measurements. — Length 3.07 to 3.95 in.; spread 4.00 to 4.75; folded wing 1.50 to 1.90; tail .90 to 1.25; bill .50 to .83; tarsus .15 to .20. Female sometimes larger than male.

A mighty warrior, three inches long

This little bird seems to have few effective enemies. He is too agile and swift for them. At times when he is not feeling truculent, he may allow some of the larger birds to chase him away from their nests, but I have seldom heard of the catching of a hummingbird by another bird. Rarely is he followed far.

Now and then an inexperienced Starling will follow one for a long distance, perhaps mistaking it for a moth, but the hummer easily evades its pursuer. It contends more or less with the bees for the nectar of the flowers, and sometimes visits a beehive and inserts its bill into the entrance, possibly in search of sweets.

Miss Mabel Tilton, of Vineyard Haven, reports that on May 22 a hummingbird was seeking food from the blossoms of an early shrub, and that every time he visited it he first cleared it of all the bees, dashing at them and driving them away. Sometimes this bird has a savage battle with the “bumblebees” which are reluctant to leave its favorite flowers.

The tiny hummingbird is a mighty warrior, with greater strength and speed in proportion to its size than any other bird that flies. The flight muscles of its breast are relatively immense, and it is possessed of such spirit that it does not hesitate to attack any bird, no matter what its size, when occasion seems to require it.

Kingbird, hawk, crow or eagle, all alike quickly feel the effects of the hummingbird’s displeasure. It has even been known to drive to cover a pompous Plymouth Rock rooster. Its needle-like bill is an irritating little weapon and not to be despised when driven forward by its sturdy humming wings. Those little wings beating so fast that eye cannot see their motion nor camera depict them, carry it on long migrations, as the species ranges from Hudson Bay to Panama.

Some of the Ruby-throats must cross wide stretches of ocean. They must pass over at least 600 miles to reach the Bermudas and 500 miles to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Yucatan and Central America.

Bendire agrees — The Ruby-throated Hummingbird prefers rather open and cultivated country, interspersed here and there with mixed or deciduous woods overrun with flowering masses of vines and creepers, extensive orchards, etc., and it is not at all adverse to taking up its home in flower gardens, in close proximity to man. Its flight is extremely swift, and the rapid motions of its wings in passing back and forth from one cluster of flowers to another causes a humming or buzzing sound, from which the numerous members of this family derive their name of Hummingbirds.

Notwithstanding the very small size of most of our Hummers, they are all extremely pugnacious, especially the males, and are constantly quarreling and chasing each other, as well as other birds, some of which are many times larger than themselves. Mr. Manly Hardy writes me that he once saw a male Ruby-throat chasing a Robin out of his garden and following it up until lost to sight.

The tiny hummingbird is a mighty warrior, with greater strength and speed in proportion to its size than any other bird that flies.

Arrival, courtship and the pendulum flight

The Ruby-throated or Northern Hummingbird, the sole representative of this family in eastern North America, is only a summer visitor in the Dominion of Canada and throughout the greater part of its range in the United States, excepting the southern portions of the Florida peninsula, where it winters to some extent. By far the greater number of these birds, however, migrate farther south, spending the winter in some of the West India Islands, while others pass through eastern Mexico into Central America, as far south as Veragua.

It usually arrives along our southern border in the latter part of March, and moves leisurely northward, rarely reaching the more northern States before the middle of May, or about the time the early and hardier flowers begin to blossom, and it usually goes south again about the latter part of September, the males preceding the females, I believe, in both migrations. Its breeding range is coextensive with its geographical distribution.

Forbush, on the wooing — Ruby-throated Hummingbirds appear generally in New England when the cherry trees are in blossom, and sometimes a considerable number may be seen buzzing about one blooming tree — their wings giving forth a sound as if giant bees were swarming. The males come first, and when the females arrive their wooing soon begins.

Hummingbirds always are quick, but during the mating season the pugnacious males are so dashing and impetuous that the eye can hardly follow their movements, which in their battles are so rapid that the details are confusing. In courtship the female flees and the male pursues. They vanish like shooting-stars, and the denouement seldom is witnessed by human eye; but when the male displays his beauties before a female that is sitting demurely on a twig, his movements may be readily descried.

He seems able to perform any acrobatic feat in the air. He can charge toward her with amazing speed until almost upon her; then suddenly stop and, hanging in mid-air, back away.

Otto Widmann, in Bendire’s account, named the display — A peculiarity of the Ruby-throat, which I have only once seen mentioned in print, is the pendulum play of the male Hummer. In time it coincides with the period of sexual excitement; it begins here about May 12, with the arrival of the bulk of the females, and lasts until incubation has commenced.

In this play the bird is swinging to and fro, as if suspended from a fixed point; it describes one-fourth of a circle, and travels about a rod. This pendulum movement is continued about a dozen times, the bird emitting chirps all the time.

The nest and the eggs

Bendire, from his own observations — In our Southern States nidification begins usually about the first week in May, occasionally a little earlier or later, according to the season, and correspondingly later in the more northern portions of its range. A suitable nesting site having been selected (and this appears to be an easy task), preparations for building are soon begun.

During this time the male may frequently be noticed indulging in the pendulum play already described, and both sexes will frequently dart straight up into the air for some 50 feet, and as quickly drop down again in the vicinity of the chosen nesting site. The nest is generally saddled on a horizontal or a somewhat drooping limb of a tree, about half an inch or a little more in thickness, or it may be placed at the junction of a little fork where one side of the nest is supported by one of the branches, and less often in bushes or vines, varying from 6 to 50 feet high, usually from 10 to 20 feet from the ground.

The nest of our Ruby-throated Hummingbird is one of the most exquisite pieces of bird architecture to be found anywhere. The circular foundation is composed of bits of lichens, mixed with fine vegetable fibers, which are apparently firmly glued to the twig on which the nest is saddled, presumably with saliva secreted by the bird for this purpose, and the structure is built upon this, the inner portions of it being composed of soft, downy plant fibers, such as the silky down of different species of willows and poplars, that found on the young and unexpanded leaves of the oaks and various kinds of ferns (Filices), especially that from the young stalks of the common brake (Pteris aquilina), the silky down of the milkweed (Asclepias), and similar materials from other sources.

After these have been well worked together in a sort of vegetable felt, the outer walls of the nest are profusely covered with a coating of bits of lichens obtained from the trunks and limbs of trees in the vicinity, and then are firmly fastened in place with spider webs, giving the nest the appearance of a small, lichen-covered knot, which for this reason is rather difficult to detect.

In nearly every instance the nest is placed so that its contents are protected from above by the leaves of the tree or a limb directly over it, and it is rare to find one in a perfectly open and unsheltered situation. The location of the beautiful little structure certainly shows considerable intelligence on the part of the builder.

Forbush’s breeding notes — Eggs: 2; .48 to .57 by .33 to .36 in.; usually elliptical-oval; white; illustrated in Bendire’s “Life Histories of North American Birds,” Vol. II, Plate I, Fig. 27. Dates: April 24 to May 20, South Carolina; May 1 to 14, District of Columbia; May 24 to June 15, Massachusetts. Incubation: Period 14 days (Burns); by female. One or two broods yearly.

In the Southern States fresh eggs may be looked for during the first two weeks in May, in the vicinity of Washington, District of Columbia, about June 10, and in New England and our Northern States in the latter part of this month or during the first half of July. Two eggs are laid to a set, one every other day, and these are frequently deposited before the nest is more than half completed, the female finishing it gradually after incubation has commenced, and sometimes adding additional lichens on the outside, even after the young have been hatched.

Incubation lasts about fourteen days, and the female not only attends to this duty alone, but also appears to care for the young exclusively, which are large enough to leave the nest in about sixteen days. They are born blind, and do not open their eyes until they are about a week old. As soon as incubation commences the male appears to lose all interest in his spouse for the time being, and lets her attend to her family duties alone, leading an easy, careless life in the meantime.

Although I have watched several nests of Hummingbirds containing young for hours at a time, I have never yet seen a male feeding them. They grow amazingly fast, and when about ten days old they are about as large as the parents. Their bills, however, grow proportionally much slower than their bodies. The young are fed by regurgitation.

I have satisfied myself fully on this point, and have seen the female insert her bill almost for its full length in the throat of the nestlings, and watched her, with the aid of a strong glass, doing so repeatedly. When not in search of food she broods the young or sits on the rim of the nest preening her feathers.

I believe two broods are frequently raised in a season, occasionally three perhaps, as fresh eggs have been found as late as August 7. An old nest is sometimes occupied for several seasons and remodeled each year; and should the nest and eggs be taken or destroyed, a second and occasionally even a third and fourth attempt at nesting is made within about a week, and sometimes these subsequent nests are built in the same tree again, or in others close by.

The birds become very much attached to a locality once chosen for a home, and will return to it from year to year, not infrequently building a new nest on the top of the last year’s one, or alongside of it. The female is very devoted to her young, and will occasionally resent an intruder’s presence by darting at his face.

The eggs of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird are pure white in color; the shell is close-grained, rather frail, and without luster. They are mostly elliptical oval in shape, but occasionally a specimen approaches an elliptical ovate, one end being somewhat smaller than the other. The average measurement of twenty-nine specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 12.95 by 8.50 millimetres, or about 0.51 by 0.33 inch.

The largest egg of this series measures 14.48 by 9.14 millimetres, or 0.57 by 0.36 inch; the smallest, 12.19 by 8.38 millimetres, or 0.48 by 0.33 inch.

What it eats — and the flowers that pull it in

There appears to be considerable difference of opinion among various observers regarding the nature of their food, some contending that this consists principally of nectar sipped from flowers, as well as the sweet sap of certain trees, to which they help themselves at the drinking places of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius, while others, myself included, believe that they subsist mainly on minute insects and small spiders, the latter forming quite an important article of food with them.

Mr. Edwin H. Eames, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, mentions finding sixteen young spiders of uniform size in the throat of a young Hummingbird which was about two days old.

That our Hummingbirds live to some extent on the sap of certain trees is undoubtedly true, but that they could exist for any length of time on such food alone is very questionable, to say the least. They are particularly fond of the sap of the sugar maple, and only slightly less so of that of different species of oak, birch, poplar, sycamore, and willow, as well as of the nectar secreted in the flowers of the lilac, honeysuckle, jasmine, begonia, horse chestnut, and many others.

Hummingbirds delight in bathing, but I have never known one to enter the water. They bathe in the rain or in dew by flying and fluttering among the wet leaves on the trees and shaking the drops off on their plumage or by flying in and out of the spray from a waterfall, a fountain, a garden hose or a lawn sprayer.

They are quite fearless and often fly into the spray while a person is holding the hose, or feed from flowers held in the hand; and in such cases have been known to alight on an extended finger. They seem particularly attracted by red, orange or pink flowers. Among the blossoms much favored by their attention are those of the trumpet-creeper, bee balm, tiger-lily, painted-cup, scarlet salvia, cardinal-flower, scarlet runner, fuchsia, caragana, pelargonium, delphinium, columbine, gladiola, canna, azalea, ragged-sailor, jewel-weed, catnip and nasturtium.

By planting these in profusion the presence of hummingbirds may be assured. Perhaps the caragana has the greatest attraction. Anything red, however, seems to have charms. Mr. Manly Hardy told of camping on an island on the Maine Coast where the red shells of cooked lobsters were lying about, and he said that a hummingbird came “out of the fog one day and darted down at those shells, moving about from one to another ” as if loath to leave them.

Even red noses may sometimes attract them. Dawson desires to know why one of them should have hovered for more than 20 seconds before his nose. This was in pre-prohibition times, and he avers that the rich tint of his proboscis was due only to “honest sunburn.” Artificial flowers made of red cloth with small vials of sugar and water concealed at the base of each are used successfully to attract hummingbirds and will lure them even into open windows.

With the first frosts of autumn hummers begin to leave us. They can stand but little cold, and now and then in late September one is picked up chilled and apparently dying. If warmed and fed, however, some of them recover. As September wanes most of them depart for the tropics. This species subsists to some extent on the sap of maple and other trees.

It follows the Sapsucker and visits his pits for this purpose. It also takes nectar from flowers, but its food consists largely of small insects, which it takes from flowers and plants, from the bark and leaves of trees, and from the air. Those who have examined stomachs of these birds have found many of them well filled with insects and very small spiders.

They are quite fearless and often fly into the spray while a person is holding the hose, or feed from flowers held in the hand; and in such cases have been known to alight on an extended finger.

Audubon watches a pair

No sooner has the returning sun again introduced the vernal season, and caused millions of plants to expand their leaves and blossoms to his genial beams, than the little Humming Bird is seen advancing on fairy wings, carefully visiting every opening flower-cup, and, like a curious florist, removing from each the injurious insects that otherwise would ere long cause their beauteous petals to droop and decay.

Poised in the air, it is observed peeping cautiously, and with sparkling eye, into their innermost recesses, whilst the etherial motions of its pinions, so rapid and so light, appear to fan and cool the flower, without injuring its fragile texture, and produce a delightful murmuring sound, well adapted for lulling the insects to repose.

Then is the moment for the Humming Bird to secure them. Its long delicate bill enters the cup of the flower, and the protruded double-tubed tongue, delicately sensible, and imbued with a glutinous saliva, touches each insect in succession, and draws it from its lurking place, to be instantly swallowed. All this is done in a moment, and the bird, as it leaves the flower, sips so small a portion of its liquid honey, that the theft, we may suppose, is looked upon with a grateful feeling by the flower, which is thus kindly relieved from the attacks of her destroyers.

I wish it were in my power at this moment to impart to you, kind reader, the pleasures which I have felt whilst watching the movements, and viewing the manifestation of feelings displayed by a single pair of these most favourite little creatures, when engaged in the demonstration of their love to each other:—how the male swells his plumage and throat, and, dancing on the wing, whirls around the delicate female; how quickly he dives towards a flower, and returns with a loaded bill, which he offers to her to whom alone he feels desirous of being united; how full of ecstacy he seems to be when his caresses are kindly received; how his little wings fan her, as they fan the flowers, and he transfers to her bill the insect and the honey which he has procured with a view to please her; how these attentions are received with apparent satisfaction; how, soon after, the blissful compact is sealed; how, then, the courage and care of the male are redoubled; how he even dares to give chase to the Tyrant Fly-catcher, hurries the blue-Bird and the Martin to their boxes; and how, on sounding pinions, he joyously returns to the side of his lovely mate: Reader, all these proofs of the sincerity, fidelity, and courage, with which the male assures his mate of the care he will take of her while sitting on her nest, may be seen, and have been seen, but cannot be portrayed or described.

Source

Edward Howe Forbush, Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States, Vol. II (1927), Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Charles Bendire, Life Histories of North American Birds, Vol. II (U.S. National Museum, 1895), Ruby-throated Hummingbird. John James Audubon, Ornithological Biography, Vol. I (1831), Ruby-throated Humming Bird. Public domain. Biodiversity Heritage Library / Internet Archive.

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