Episode Number
60
Episode Show Notes / Description
Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).
The only hummingbird that regularly nests east of the Mississippi river.
Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
- Subscription links Here
- Subscribe to the Newsletter
- Listen online on our Homepage
The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:
- Ruby-throated hummingbird calls by Geoffrey A. Keller (ML507203)
- Ruby-throated hummingbird male display flight sound by Randolph Little (ML507200)
- Ruby-throated hummingbird flight humming by Randolph Little (ML507202)
Sources and more:
- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird
- https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ruby-throated-hummingbird
- Dobson, C., Kassenbaum, D., Oehmke, D., & Misewicz, M. (2023). Field guide to hotspots and birds in Illinois. Scissortail LLC.
- Godfrey, M. A., & Kaufman, Kenn. (Directors). (2004). National Audubon Society videoguide to the birds of North America [Video recording]. In Audubon videoguide to 505 birds of North America DVD I & DVD II (Fullscreen.). Godfrey-Stadin Productions.
- Peterson, R. T., & Peterson, V. M. (1980). A field guide to the birds: A completely new guide to all the birds of eastern and central North America (Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged.). Houghton Mifflin Company.
- Sibley, D. (2016). Sibley birds East: Field guide to birds of eastern North America (2nd ed.). Alfred A. Knopf.
Transcript
This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”
An avian pollinator with a combination of speed and precision that makes them both an unparalleled hunter of little winged insects and an unrivaled drinker of nectar. Its name comes from the male’s gorget, the plumage on the front of the throat, which is an iridescent dark red. They are the only member of the hummingbird family that regularly graces sugar feeders east of the mississippi. This is the ruby throated hummingbird.
Long before the advent of manufactured sugar feeders, the ruby throat was enjoying nectar from long tubular flowers like the trumpet creeper and cardinal flower, so don’t be surprised if you come across one on a hike through a high quality forest. And remember, if you have a sugar feeder, make sure you're changing that sugar water regularly, as much as once a day in the heat of the summer. Here’s the ruby throated hummingbird again.
Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW
An avian pollinator with a combination of speed and precision that makes them both an unparalleled hunter of little winged insects and an unrivaled drinker of nectar. Its name comes from the male’s gorget, the plumage on the front of the throat, which is an iridescent dark red. They are the only member of the hummingbird family that regularly graces sugar feeders east of the mississippi. This is the ruby throated hummingbird.
Long before the advent of manufactured sugar feeders, the ruby throat was enjoying nectar from long tubular flowers like the trumpet creeper and cardinal flower, so don’t be surprised if you come across one on a hike through a high quality forest. And remember, if you have a sugar feeder, make sure you're changing that sugar water regularly, as much as once a day in the heat of the summer. Here’s the ruby throated hummingbird again.
Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW