My daughter told me to watch out for this bird as it's time for them to show up, then the next day they did!

Rufous hummingbirds are absolutely gorgeous little birds. The males usually have an orange reflective patch on their throats making them easy to identify. Rufous hummingbirds are very agressive; vigorously chasing away all intruders including larger birds. Getting a great picture can be a daunting task, however, as they don't sit still for long and are constantly chasing other hummers and other birds. They make for a great entertainment as they zip around everywhere. Their diet consists mostly of nectar and insects, and they tend to feed on red tubular flowers such as red columbines, scarlet sage and paintbrush, just to name a few. The males' courtship display flight traces a steep U or vertical oval, climbing high up, then diving steeply with whining and popping sounds at the bottom of the dive constantly buzzing the female. When I'm out birding in the mornings, the hummingbirds will complete their dives right in front of me often, but I can't raise the camera fast enough to take their pictures. Incubation of the eggs is roughly 15-17 days, with 2 eggs that have a white shell. The young are fed by a parent placing their bills deep inside the babies' mouths, and regurgitating tiny insects mixed with nectar. The age of a young one's first flight is about 21 days. One of the most impressive things about hummingbirds is their migration which is generally 2,000 miles! I managed to take a half dozen or so pictures of the rufous hummingbirds in my yard, so the next couple of posts will contain the pictures.






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