Appearance
BILL: long, straight and slender bill.
SIZE: measures 2.8–3.5 inches long and spans 4.3 inches across the wings.
WEIGHT: 2–5 grams.
COLOR: red, orange, white, green, black, buff, iridescent.
Habitat:
OPEN WOODLANDS: typically breed in open or shrubby areas, forest openings, yards, and parks, and sometimes in forests, thickets, swamps, and meadows from sea level to about 6,000 feet.
Nesting:
NEST: are about 2 inches across on the outside, with an inner cup width of about an inch. Soft plant, held together with spider web. the outside is decorated with lichen, moss, and bark.
EGGS: 2-3 eggs, 0.5 inches in length, Tiny, white in color.
INCUBATION: 15-17 days.
NESTLING PHASE: 15-19 days.
FLEDGLING PHASE: 21-31 days.
Food:
NECTAR from colorful, tubular flowers including columbine, scarlet gilia, penstemon, Indian paintbrush, mints, lilies, fireweeds, larkspurs, currants, and heaths.
INSECTS gnats, midges, and flies taken from the air, and aphids taken from plants.
Behaviour:
HOVERING at flowers to sip nectar or fly from one to another in fast, straight lines. Both sexes are aggressive.
Distribution:
SUMMER - Rocky Mountains.
WINTER AND SPRING - Pacific Coast, Washington, and British Columbia.
