Youngsters
get to know the young hero and the adventures
that carry him toward manhood. As they come to know Jeremiah as a friend who would
understand their own growing pains, they look forward to each book in the
series.
Teachers
will Achieve..
Teachers will appreciate the ways
that Jeremiah Stokely novels, kits, and activities make literature
meaningful to children.
Click the >Play button
to listen to the bird's song!
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
(Archilochus colubris)
Length 3¾ in., wingspan 4½ in., Family Trochilidae
Some people call Ruby-throated Hummingbirds “flying
jewels.” It is a good description of these tiny iridescent creatures. Both
genders are metallic green with gray undersides, dark wings and tails, and
needle-like bills. The male’s brilliant, metallic red throat may appear
red, black or gold, depending on how the light strikes it. The male has a
narrow black “chin”; the female’s chin and throat are white. The tail of
the female is rounded with white tips, the male’s slightly notched and
lacking white.
The Ruby-throated is the only hummingbird in the
eastern two-thirds of the U.S. Its spring migration northward coincides
with the blooming of certain flowers along its route. Some individuals of
the species migrate from Florida south to Yucatan. Most migrate around the
Gulf through Texas and northern Mexico to spend the winter in Central
America, as far south as Panama.
Hummingbirds are so-named because of the hum or buzz
that their wings make in rapid flight. Their actual call is a mouse-like
squeak. They are the only birds that can fly backwards or hover in one
spot.
Hummingbirds feed on more than 30 kinds of plants,
but tubular red flowers are their favorites. They open flowers with their
long beaks and drink nectar with their thread-like tongues. It is thought
that the evolution of at least 19 species of U.S. plants has been
influenced by hummingbird pollination. Hummers also capture small flies,
bees, wasps, and spiders on flowers and sometimes “flycatch” in clouds of
gnats. They are also attracted by artificial feeders filled with red sugar
water.
In
spring, males return north before the females to establish territories.
Females build tiny nests on downward branches, decorating them with
lichens. Sometimes they reuse nests from a previous year. Not until her
nest is complete is the female interested in the male’s back and forth
flight display. Pairs do not stay together as the female settles into her
nest to lay two bean-sized eggs. She feeds the hatchlings by herself.
Hummingbirds are born naked and blind, but are ready to fly in three
weeks.
