While twenty species of hummingbird can be found in the U.S., the great majority are limited to the southwestern States; only the ruby-throated hummingbird summers in the Midwest and East. Smallest of all birds, hummers are also the only birds capable of flying backward. They use their needle-like bill to feed on nectar from tubular flowers but also feed on small insects and tree sap; the latter is often obtained from sapsucker holes.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds generally arrive in the Midwest by late April and will stay until early October. Common in residential areas, they are easily attracted to red-colored, sugar water feeders; plantings of honeysuckle, trumpet vine, jewelweed, salvia, petunias, bee balm and mimosa will also bring these high-energy birds to your yard. When not feeding or chasing off rivals, hummingbirds rest on wires or thin tree branches.
Both sexes have a metallic green crown, back and wings and a white abdomen; only the male has the bright ruby throat which, at certain angles, may appear black. Females lay two, white, jelly-bean sized eggs in a small, cup-shaped nest; the latter is composed of plant down and spider silk and is usually covered with lichens; two broods may be raised in some years. By early October, the ruby-throats are off to Central or South America, departing before a hard freeze eliminates their food source; amazingly, many of these tiny birds will cross the Gulf of Mexico on their biannual journey.
