The Life of Animals | Hummingbird | As far as is known, male hummingbirds do not take part in nesting. Most species build a cup-shaped nest on the branch of a tree or shrub, though A Few tropical species of Their Nests normally attach to leaves. The nest varies in size relative to species, from Smaller than half a walnut shell to Several centimeters in diameter. In many species of hummingbirds, spider silk is used to bind the nest material together and secure the structure to its support. Incubation Lasts 14 to 23 months, Depending on species, ambient temperature, and female attentiveness to the nest.
Many of the hummingbird species have bright with exotic plumage colouration. The Hummingbird wing structure acts as a diffraction grating. The rusty browns of Allen's and Rufous Hummingbirds come from pigmentation. The greatest species richness is in humid tropical and subtropical forests of the northern Andes and adjacent Foothills, but the number of species found in the Atlantic Forest, Central America or southern Mexico also Far Exceeds the number found in southern South America, the Caribbean islands, the United States and Canada.
Only the migratory Ruby-throated Hummingbird breeds in continental North America east of the Mississippi River and Great Lakes. The Black-chinned Hummingbird, its close relative and another migrant, is the most widespread and common species in the western United States, while the Rufous Hummingbird is the most widespread species in western Canada. Most hummingbirds of the U.S. and Canada migrate south in fall to Spend the winter in northern Mexico or Central America. A few southern South American species also move to the Tropics in the southern winter.
The Rufous Hummingbird is one of Several Species That breed in western North America and are wintering in Increasing numbers in the Southeastern United States, rather than in tropical Mexico. Thanks in part to artificial feeders and winter-blooming gardens, hummingbirds formerly Considered doomed by faulty navigational instincts are surviving northern winters and even returning to the same gardens year after year. The Rufous Hummingbird Nests farther north than any other species and must tolerate temperatures below freezing on its breeding grounds.
