Editing Ruby-throated hummingbird (section)

== Description ==
This hummingbird is from {{convert|7|to|9|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and has an {{convert|8|to|11|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan. Weight can range from {{convert|2|to|6|g|oz|abbr=on}}, with males averaging {{convert|3.4|g|oz|abbr=on}} against the slightly larger female which averages {{convert|3.8|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Cornell">{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird/overview |title=Ruby-throated hummingbird|publisher=All About Birds – Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology|date=2023|access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kirschbaum |first=Kari |url=http://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Archilochus_colubris.html |title=ADW: Archilochus colubris: INFORMATION |publisher=Animaldiversity.org |access-date=7 November 2012}}</ref> Adults are metallic green above and grayish white below, with near-black wings. Their bill, at up to {{convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on}}, is long, straight, and slender. 

[[File:Ruby Throated Hummingbird, F, leg, 430 ESt. NW, 8.22.12 2013-04-12-14.49.36 ZS PMax (8644622066).jpg|thumb|Close-up of toe arrangement in a ruby-throated hummingbird foot, showing three claw-like toes forward and one backward.]]
Hummingbird legs are short and have [[Bird_feet_and_legs#Tarsometatarsus|feet with three toes pointing forward and one backward]] {{ndash}} the [[hallux]].<ref name="b&b">{{cite web |first1=Emily |last1=Hannemann |title=Hummingbird feet: Can hummingbirds walk? |url=https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-hummingbirds/hummingbird-feet/ |publisher=Birds&Blooms |access-date=4 April 2023 |date=12 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="scoop">{{cite web |title=Do hummingbirds have feet? |url=https://www.wildbirdscoop.com/do-hummingbirds-have-feet.html |publisher=Wild Bird Scoop |access-date=4 April 2023 |date=2023}}</ref> The toes are formed as [[claw]]s (image) with ridged inner surfaces to aid gripping onto flower stems or petals.
The middle toe is around {{convert|0.6|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The ruby-throated hummingbird can only shuffle to move along a branch, although it can [[Preening#Preening_action|scratch-preen]] with its feet.<ref name= Cornell/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rubythroat.org/RTHUAudubonTextMain.html |title=John James Audubon's Description of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird |publisher=Rubythroat.org |access-date=7 November 2012}}</ref>

The species is [[Sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rubythroat.org/RTHUExternalMain.html |title=Hummingbird: external appearance, ageing, sexing |publisher=Ruby-Throat.org |access-date=13 June 2011}}</ref> The adult male has a [[gorget (bird)|gorget]] (throat patch) of iridescent ruby red bordered narrowly with velvety black on the upper margin and a forked black tail with a faint violet sheen. The red iridescence is highly directional and appears dull black from many angles. The female has a notched tail with outer feathers banded in green, black, and white and a white throat that may be plain or lightly marked with dusky streaks or stipples. Males are smaller than females and have slightly shorter bills. Juvenile males resemble adult females, though usually with heavier throat markings.<ref name=williamson2001>Williamson (2001)</ref> The plumage is [[molt]]ed once a year on the wintering grounds, beginning in early fall and ending by late winter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baltosser|first=William H.|date=1995|title=Annual Molt in Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v097n02/p0484-p0491.pdf|journal=The Condor|volume=97|issue=2|pages=484–491|via=Searchable Ornithological Research Archive|doi=10.2307/1369034|jstor=1369034}}</ref>

===Population and status===
As of 2021, there were 34–36&nbsp;million ruby-throated hummingbirds over their eastern North American breeding range, making this species the most populous of North American hummingbirds.<ref name=iucn/><ref name="abc">{{cite web |first1=Kathryn |last1=Stonich |title=Hummingbirds of the United States: A Photo List of All Species |url=https://abcbirds.org/blog21/types-of-hummingbirds/ |publisher=American Bird Conservancy |access-date=7 March 2023 |date=26 April 2021}}</ref> Despite substantial population growth from 1970 through the early 21st century, numbers of ruby-throated birds declined by 17% over the census reported in 2021.<ref name="English">{{cite journal |last1=English |first1=Simon G. |last2=Bishop |first2=Christine A. |last3=Wilson |first3=Scott |last4=Smith |first4=Adam C. |title=Current contrasting population trends among North American hummingbirds |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |date=2021-09-15 |page=18369 |issn=2045-2322 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-97889-x |pmid=34526619 |pmc=8443710 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1118369E }}</ref> According to the [[IUCN Red List|International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species]] in 2023, ruby-throated hummingbirds are listed as [[Least-concern species|''least-concern'']] for risk of [[extinction]],<ref name=iucn/> while [[Hummingbird#Population_estimates_and_threatened_species|numerous other common North American hummingbirds are in significant decline]].<ref name=English/>

===Vocalization ===
{{Listen
|filename=Archilochus colubris.ogg
|title=''Archilochus colubris'' call
|description=Chirping of a ruby-throated hummingbird (''Archilochus colubris'')
|format=[[Ogg]]}}

The vocalizations of ruby-throated hummingbirds are rapid, squeaky chirps, which are used primarily for threats. For example, males may vocalize to warn another male that has entered his territory.

During the courtship displays, the male makes a rapid ''tik-tik tik-tik tik-tik'' sound with his wings.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=21903810|year=2011|last1=Clark|first1=C. J.|title=Aeroelastic flutter produces hummingbird feather songs|journal=Science|volume=333|issue=6048|pages=1430–3|last2=Elias|first2=D. O.|last3=Prum|first3=R. O.|doi=10.1126/science.1205222|bibcode=2011Sci...333.1430C |s2cid=12248122|url=http://prumlab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/clark_et_al._2011_som.pdf}}</ref> The sound is produced both during the shuttle display, at each end of the side-to-side flight. Also, the sound is made during dive displays. A second, rather faint, repeated whining sound is sometimes produced with the outer tail-feathers during the dive, as the male flies over the female, spreading and shutting the tail as he does so.