Hummingbird Varieties

Although some hummingbirds have limited ranges, many migrate. Most people stay in place or travel short distances, perhaps moving up and down in altitude as flowering plants bloom. Most hummingbird species found in the United States migrate long distances. which are not found in residential populations in the warm Southwest.

Their excellent spatial memory carries them along, whether they are traveling a few miles or a few thousand. Other birds are known for this, but hummingbirds do it especially well. They follow a path and forage systematically, sometimes returning season after season to very specific, individual plants.

“Migratory hummingbirds do some things that remind me of shorebirds,” says George Wallace, ABC’s vice president of oceans and islands. In August, he says, alpine meadows in the Rockies will be filled with hundreds of hummingbirds, all looking for nectar. “These stopover sites are probably very important — just as a site like Delaware Bay is important for migrating shorebirds.”

Only recently have scientists begun to accurately trace their impressive migration routes. A new study of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, published this year in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, shows that the birds traveled an average of 1,400 miles between refueling stops during their migration between eastern North America and Central America. . . Ability to do

Researchers collected 2,200 or more ruby-throated hummingbirds from Mobile, Ala. collected from, captured near the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge, on their way south to their wintering grounds. By analyzing the birds’ fat deposits over five consecutive autumns, the researchers determined that the young birds were able to travel about 1,200 miles in one flight.

That’s an impressive distance for a bird about the weight of a penny—but perhaps not entirely surprising. We have long marveled at the courage of hummingbirds. This is just another proof.