We've spent the week at a cabin on the Lake Superior Shore at Lutsen. This is prime territory for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. At least three individuals have been visiting a feeder hung on our deck. Identification by sex, and sometimes by invidivual, can be made by looking at the throats of the birds. Males show the namesake ruby throat. Females show a light, almost faint spotted pattern. Juveniles show a pattern of spots more intense in color. Each is shown in a photo below. I think we have been visited by at least three juveniles. I base this on the pattern and intensity of the throat spots. You can see on one of the birds a single feather tip of what would seem to be the beginning of a male's throat color. The mature male spends most of his time chasing the other birds from the feeder. He infrequently comes to the feeder to eat. When he does, he is exceedingly shy. The photo of him peeking around the feeder from the far-side perch is the best view he has given me. I am fairly sure of the distinction I make between and female and the juveniles; this is not always a straight-forward identification, at least not for me. The description of the plumages, however, is correct.
Hummingbird ID by age and sex
Males, females, juveniles
By jim williams
August 26, 2011 at 8:03PM


Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird, sex undetermined.

Juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird, sex undetermined.

Juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Note appearance of single dark throat feather.
about the writer
jim williams
Several home watch businesses joined together in the Minnesota Home Watch Collaborative to stay vigilant across the whole state.