Endangered Species: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Endangered Species: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

A Orleans Wood Elementary School
Submitted by Natasha: Grade 4
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Photo by Terry Issac

Why Study This Topic?	What Was Already Known	Search for Information	Description of Plant or Animal	Habitat Requirements
Adaptations	Reasons for Endangerment	Restoration Actions	What Was Learned	Conclusions from Research

Why Study This Topic?

I wanted to study this topic because I am especially interested in birds. I wanted to know how big the hummingbird is and how many feathers it can have.I also wanted to know if there are hummingbirds in Ottawa.

What Was Already Known

&nbspBefore I researched on the hummingbird I knew that the hummingbird was really small and that the hummingbird could fly really fast.

Search for Information

&nbspI used The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Wildlife Fact Card. I also used a CD -ROM disk called "World Book, Information Finder". I used a "Ranger Rick" magazine too. I had a page from a book called Scientific Encounters Of The Curious Kind.

Description of Plant or Animal

&nbspYou can tell a male hummingbird from a female hummingird by its neck. Male hummingbirds have red necks and female hummingbirds have white necks. They weigh as much as two paper clips.They are five inches tall. Hummingbirds are not mammals. They are birds. Hummingbirds are very fast. They can fly backwards. They have short, high-pitched squeaks. If you see them in the sun they will look like jewels flashing in the sun.

Habitat Requirements

Ruby-throated hummingbirds live in the rain forests of America (Gulf of Mexico) in the western hemisphere. They migrate from North America where they spend the summer. They live in the canopy of the rain forest. They can also live in orchards, woods and gardens. They build their nests high in branches. They use soft plants, leaves and webs to hold their nests together.
The Ruby-throated hummingbirds eat nectar and insects. Red flowers such as honeysuckle, petunias, and lilacs attract hummingbirds. Their tongues curve on the sides to form tubes which are used to gather food. They can suck out all the nectar they need, and if there are any insects, they eat them. They have to eat twice their body weight every day.

Adaptations

Hummingbirds spend most of their time flying around. Their ability to fly so fast and to change direction makes it hard for them to get caught by predators. They look for food alot too. When they get to the breeding area the female spends most of her time looking for a mate.

Reasons for Endangerment

Victorians hunted hummingbirds from the 1860s to 1910 . They hunted them to decorate their living rooms. Now, the hummingbirds' habitats are being destroyed by people who are cutting down the rain forest.

Restoration Actions

We can save these hummingbirds by not cutting down the rain forest, because when they get back to the rain forest from their summer homes in North America their old homes are gone and they die.

What Was Learned

I learned that hummingbirds are the fastest birds that fly. They eat nectar and insects and likes red flowers the best. I also learned that the hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world.

Conclusions From Research

I was aware that I had to get my information on one specific hummingbird which was the Ruby-throated hummingbird. I had to spend more time looking for information than anything else, such as putting my information in groups and then writing paragraghs. I also concluded people could save many hummingbirds by not cutting down the rainforest .

Click here for more information on the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird!

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Christiansburg Elementary

Last updated on April 23, 1998