Friday’s Feathered Friends- Rufous Hummingbird

Posted in Backyard Birding, Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, PhotographyTagged , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

A few weeks ago a pair of Rufous Hummingbirds returned to my backyard feeder. They’ve been chasing off the Black-chinned and having skirmishes all day everyday since their return.

I’m beginning to think I need to add another Shepard’s hook and feeder so the territorial squabbling gets better.

Here’s what I think is a female perched on top of the hook claiming possession. She lands here on and off all day long letting the other Hummingbirds know this is her feeder. You can see a little bit of her Gorget on her throat.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

Here she is just after chasing off two other Hummingbirds. I love her tail!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com Image

I could be wrong about her sex as it could also be an immature female/ male. If you know which it is please let me know.

Fun Facts:

  • The Rufous Hummingbird is a common visitor to hummingbird feeders. It is extremely territorial at all times of year, attacking any visiting hummingbird, including much larger species. They’ve been seen chasing chipmunks away from their nests.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the world, as measured by body size. At just over 3 inches long, its roughly 3,900-mile movement (one-way) from Alaska to Mexico is equivalent to 78,470,000 body lengths. In comparison, the 13-inch-long Arctic Tern’s one-way flight of about 11,185 mi is only 51,430,000 body lengths. (AAB)
  • During their long migrations, Rufous Hummingbirds make a clockwise circuit of western North America each year. They move up the Pacific Coast in late winter and spring, reaching Washington and British Columbia by May. As early as July they may start south again, traveling down the chain of the Rocky Mountains. People first realized this pattern after examining detailed field notes and specimens, noting the birds’ characteristic dates of arrival on each part of the circuit.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird has an excellent memory for location, no doubt helping it find flowers from day to day, or even year to year. Some birds have been seen returning from migration and investigating where a feeder had been the previous year, even though it had since been moved.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird breeds as far north as southeastern Alaska – the northernmost breeding range of any hummingbird in the world. Of the western hummingbirds that occasionally show up in the east, the Rufous Hummingbird is the most frequent.
  • Rufous Hummingbirds, like most other hummingbirds, beat their wings extremely fast to be able to hover in place. The wingbeat frequency of Rufous Hummingbirds has been recorded at 52–62 wingbeats per second.
  • The Rufous Hummingbird is not a colonially nesting species; however, there have been reports from Washington state that have 20 or more Rufous Hummingbird nests only a few yards apart in the same tree. (From the BNA)
  • Hummingbirds are hard to catch, but there are records of Rufous Hummingbirds being caught by a large flycatcher (Brown-crested Flycatcher) and by a frog.
  • The oldest recorded Rufous Hummingbird was a female, and at least 8 years, 11 months old when she was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in British Columbia in 2004.

I’ve been slower to your blogs this week as I’m visiting with family, and I will be for the next several days, but I’ll catch up!

Have a lovely week-end!!

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| Fun Facts-https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rufous_Hummingbird/overview

more to come…

47 thoughts on “Friday’s Feathered Friends- Rufous Hummingbird”

  2. Lovely pics of the female Rufous hummingbird!! My favorite hummingbird to watch at the lake – the coppery red throat of the male is so vibrant. And yes, they fight with the Black-Chinned constantly! I did try putting out 2 feeders but they still fight each other! Lol
    I enjoyed reading your interesting highlights about this amazing bird!!

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  6. Wonderful captures of the hummingbird, Deborah! The facts about the Rufous Hummingbirds are very interesting. I had a hummingbird in my garden but haven’t seen him (assume to be him) for a while. I know it’s not ruby-throated. I had a ruby-throated hummingbird born in my garden in my California home. His parents went south in the winter but he stayed around my house all year long. I miss him.

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    1. I missed the Hummingbirds when I moved here too so I put up a feeder several years ago and firs the Black-chinned came then the Rufous. I had Anna’s Hummingbirds at my old house come feed at the feeders. Thank you so much, Mariam for the great comment.

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      1. Good to hear you have different hummingbirds visiting your garden. Deborah. I love hummingbirds. Two weeks ago, the hummingbird was behind my head for a few seconds, then moved to the left side of my face for a few seconds. The humming was so lovely. No wonder they are called hummingbirds. I’ll put at least two more feeders around.

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  9. As amazing as their flights and migrations are, I was completely astounded when a friend in California posted photos of a hummingbird nest with those tiny, tiny eggs. Fueling up for migration is one thing, but can you imagine trying to keep a few babies fed and happy?

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  12. Interesting facts about this marvelous little bird Deborah. Nectar is precious to honeyeaters as it is here in our part of the world and birds will fight to own the territory. We often witness bullying to prevent other birds accessing nectar. Love your aerial shot, so cuuute 🙂

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  13. I very much like the pictures, Deborah, and indeed: the tail! The facts about this little creature are amazing! This is a superbird! I had a bald eagle read these facts and he scratched his, well bald, head in awe. ‘Is this for real?’, he asked. When I nodded, he grabbed the phone and said to some government person: ‘I don’t want to be the symbol of the US no more. I want it to be the rufous hummingbird from now on. So don’t be surprised when there are some changes in the background during official announcements. 🙂

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