Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

"This is the common hummingbird of eastern Texas ... The adult male ruby-throat is aptly named for its brilliant red gorget. Metallic green above and whitish below, it has a shallowly forked tail."

"Both females and immatures resemble similarly plumaged black-chinned hummingbirds and it is extremely difficult to separate the two species except by range. The ruby-throat is much more numerous in eastern Texas, the black-chin, in the West."

I noticed the first one of the year the last weekend in March. They should be here through September, maybe into Ocrtober.

Photo taken with a William Optics 80mm f/6 telescope & Nikon D70 at prime focus

September 23, 2005.