When hummingbird watching comes to mind, most people don’t think of Illinois as a state full of these species. Although Illinois is not known for its hummingbird population, it does have a few of these beautiful birds that visit each year. Hummingbird watchers will have the most luck with seeing the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, as they are very common. Other species of hummingbirds that have been documented in Illinois are Rufi Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird and Allen Hummingbird.
The most commonly seen hummingbird in the state of Illinois is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Illinois residents often have the opportunity to see those little hummingbirds as they feed on blooming flowers or nectar from feeders. Identifying Ruby-throated hummingbirds is simple if the hummingbird in question is male. Males are colored by sex. To identify a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird just by looking at the neck, the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird will have a “ruby” colored throat. The males also have black feathers covering their face and chin, and have a forked tail. The female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, although not as brightly colored as the male, has white feathers covering the chin and throat, and a white streaked throat. The female also has a slightly smaller bifurcated tail tipped with white. Both sexes have thin, long and straight beaks, and they have green feathers that cover their backs and crowns, white feathers that cover their underparts, and green feathers that cover their sides.
Distinguishing a Rufous Hummingbird is a lot like distinguishing a Ruby-gut Hummingbird with males being easier to identify than females. The male red hummingbird has red feathers, covering the crown, tail, and sides. The back of the male Rufous Hummingbird is not so easy to identify as it can be red, green or a combination of red and green. Also male has bright orange-red and white chest. The female Rufous Hummingbird is also similar to its Ruby-throated counterpart in that it is less colorful in sex and has a green back and crown. It also has striped colored throats and red tails with white tips.
The distinctive Broad-abled Hummingbird is also similar to the Ruby-throated Hummingbird in that the male also colors the sex with his bright metallic blue throat. The male Broad-billed Hummingbird also has green-black feathers that cover its back and breasts and is bright. red-gold bibl. The same reddish-orange bill as the male identifies the female Broad-capped Hummingbird. The female also has a green back and crown, a gray throat and breast, and a tail tipped with white feathers.
Learning from Allen’s Hummingbird begins with a male, just like the previous hummingbird species. The male Allen’s Hummingbird is probably the most colorful hummingbird to visit Illinois. It has an iridescent copper-red throat and a metallic green copper back. Female Allen’s Hummingbirds have white breasts, white spots with red throat, rounded tails with white tips and red backs and sides . .
To attract these species of hummingbirds to an Illinois garden, hummingbird enthusiasts must grow hummingbird plants. they are attracted to such as Trumpet Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Trumpet Vine or Trumpet Creeper, Columbine, Cardinal Flower and Jewelweed. Red Trumpet cissanthemus grows and blooms best in full sun, but will take some shade. It blooms most fully in late spring, but will also bloom many times throughout the rest of the summer and tolerates some shade. Trumpet vine or Trumpet is a creeping plant that will grow in any garden. This vine is found in hummingbird gardens in most gardens across the nation Columbine is another member of Hummingbird Garden Illinois that blooms from late spring to early summer. Cardinal The flower blooms from early summer until late summer. This plant likes moist shady places. Jewelweed is another summer flower. This plant .
