Bird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

A summer resident that nests in Alabama. Found in all 67 counties, across 17 habitats.

Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 17

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, whole bird — **Male**. no rights reserved. CC0. iNaturalist photo 76330558. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 17
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 17

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 17

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerSouth-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerCumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (103)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer.

Elsewhere in the South (53)

Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer.
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer.
Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Summer.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer.
Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.

Northeast (7)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.

Midwest (3)

North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer.

Land cover and other classes (39)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
Developed, Low Intensity Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Summer: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.