Hummingbird Viewing Summer Garden

by Mary Lynn Giacomini

Title

Hummingbird Viewing Summer Garden

Artist

Mary Lynn Giacomini

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Hummingbird viewing Summer Garden

Photography By Mary Lynn Giacomini
Photographed in my Illinois
Topaz Studio

A morning shot of the female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird overlooking the garden perched on a Eupatorium plant, she is prepared to chase out any hummingbird intruders. This time of year they like the zinnia, phlox, verbena,Salvia and sunflower that are left blooming in this Summer garden.

Eupatorium are hardy perennials. They can reach heights of between (2 to 10 feet), making them ideal for use in borders.
They bloom from Summer to Autumn, when they display clustered flowers of white, purple, or pink, atop heavy foilage.
The Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, are probably the most common hummingbird in the world Around 300 different species of hummingbirds exist around the Americas in places such as the United States, the Caribbean, Ecuador and Canada. Major noticeable differences occur in male and female hummingbirds, such as appearances, overall size, breeding roles and behaviors. You can easily identify the sex of a hummingbird if you look closely.

Male and female hummingbirds can be identified simply based on the color of their feathers. Male hummingbirds have bright feathers to attract females and to deter males by expressing their dominance. A patch of brightly-colored feathers on the necks of males is known as a gorget. A gorget's color range includes red, purple, orange, blue and pink. When hit with sunlight, the gorget will glisten due to refraction, or the bending of sunlight against the different-sized feathers. Males can make the gorget appear to be black to avoid attracting predators. Unlike males, female hummingbirds have no bright feathers to display. Females are often brown or dull green in color. Immature male hummingbirds typically resemble females in that they have no bright feathers. Although it is hard to tell, female hummingbirds are typically larger than males.

Uploaded

September 8th, 2023

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