Ruby-throated hummingbird

Description:

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long and has a 8–11 cm (3.1–4.3 in) wingspan. Weight can range from 2 to 6 g (0.071 to 0.21 oz), with males averaging 3.4 g (0.12 oz) against the slightly larger female which averages 3.8 g (0.13 oz).[2][3] Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below, with near-black wings. Their bill is long, straight and very slender. The adult male has a ruby red throat patch which may appear black in some lighting, and a dark forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and generally no throat patch, though she may sometimes have a light or whitish throat patch. The male is smaller than the female, and has a slightly shorter beak. A molt of feathers occurs once a year, and begins during the autumn migration.

Habitat:

The breeding habitat is throughout most of eastern North America and the Canadian prairies, in deciduous and pine forests and forest edges, orchards, and gardens. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or a tree. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is migratory spending most of the winter in southern Mexico, Central America as far south as South America, and the West Indies. It breeds throughout the eastern United States, east of the 100th meridian, and in southern Canada in eastern and mixed deciduous forest.[5] seen mostly in winter, in Mexico.

Notes:

This was the first time, I was able to see and photograph the hummingbirds in my yard in 2012. I was able to see the male, but was only able to get captures of the female. The photos you see, where taken using available light only, there was no flash involved. The backgrounds are dark to almost black simply because I took the photos of the hummingbird, with a dense woods as a backdrop. I set my camera to spot meter on the hummingbird, and allowed the backgrounds to go extremely dark.