Overview

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can truly fly backwards — their wings rotate in a figure-eight pattern, beating up to 80 times per second. The ruby-throated hummingbird, the only species that breeds east of the Mississippi, weighs less than a nickel yet migrates across the Gulf of Mexico nonstop.

At feeders and trumpet flowers, hummingbirds are fearless and fast — emerald backs flashing, throats blazing red in sunlight, chirping and chasing rivals with astonishing aggression for something so small.

Habitat

Gardens, meadows, and woodland edges across the Americas hold hummingbirds. Ruby-throated hummingbirds reach the eastern US and Canada in summer, visiting bee balm, salvia, and sugar-water feeders before migrating south to Central America.

Countries found

Hummingbird in United States

Interesting facts

01
Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.
02
Their hearts can beat over 1,200 times per minute during flight.
03
Ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate 800 km nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico.

Conservation status

LC — Least Concern

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are Least Concern with stable populations. Habitat loss and climate change may affect migration timing, but backyard feeders support them widely.