Residents and visitors to Mississippi have the opportunity from March to October to enjoy the sight of at least ten species of hummingbirds, while enjoying the nectar and insects provided by hummingbird feeders and gardens. These ten species are Ruby-drop, Red, Oval, Black, White, Calliope, Broad, Anne’s, Allen’s, and Green-eared Violet. With so many species coming into Mississippi, he could look for them, he could identify them.
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common hummingbird in the nation and therefore also in Mississippi. The male of this species is probably the easiest of all hummingbirds to identify. This hummingbird, as the name suggests, has a reddish throat, but it also has an emerald green back and a forked tail. The female Ruby-gutture hummingbird is marked very differently than the male with a unique feature that is the same as the emerald colored back. The rest of the female is very different from the male breast and white throat and rounded tail. . One other feature that differs between the sexes is that the female Ruby-guttre Hummingbird also has a longer bill than the male does.
Another Rufous Hummingbird is a common species of hummingbird found throughout the United States and Mississippi. Like the ruby-gutture hummingbird, the male here is easier to identify than the female. The most distinctive feature of this bird is its white colored throat and white breast. The male red hummingbird also has red or russet feathers that cover the crown, tail and sides, hence their name. Male The female Rufous Hummingbird has one thing in common with its male counterpart and that is a white breast. But the female differs from the male in that it has a green back and crown, a striped and bifurcated throat, and tail feathers colored red.
The buffalo hummingbird is a hummingbird that is unusual in that there is no difference in the coloration of the sexes as in other hummingbird species. The main difference between the sexes is that the male is slightly larger than the female, weighing about 4.05g and the female about 3.67g. The buff hummingbird has a buff colored belly, hence the name, as well as buff or buff side and tail feathers. The back, crown, and throat are covered with green metallic feathers. This species of hummingbird also has white-eye rings.
The Black-chinted Hummingbird is another species of hummingbird in Mississippi where the sexes are colored differently. A black throat, a purple throat and a white band and a colored back and crown, a throat with black and white spots, red colored sides and a green tail feather complex , red, black with white tips.
Allen’s Hummingbird is another species that is easier to identify as a male than a female. First, the male’s throat is covered with iridescent copper-red feathers, and metallic bronze-green feathers cover the head and back. Female Allen’s Hummingbirds are often confused with the female Rufous Hummingbird because of the amount of red colored feathers that cover the back and sides. These hummingbirds differ, however, in their red spotted, white throat, white breast, round, whitish tail feathers.
Hannah’s hummingbird is one of the largest bird species in Mississippi with a male weighing about 4.3 pounds. It’s not just the size of this bird that sets it apart, but also the actual song that most hummingbirds don’t have. However, if size and song are not enough to make a positive identification, the color of the feathers covering its body can be used such as the black rose-red feathers that cover the throat and crown. This male bird also had green metallic feathers covering his back and gray feathers covering his chest. A female Anna’s hummingbird has a white throat and red spots, lighter gray feathers covering her chest, green feathers covering her back, and a pointed tail.
The green-purple-eared hummingbird is the largest hummingbird species seen in Mississippi. These large hummingbirds will weigh in the neighborhood of 5 to 6 pounds, almost twice as much as other bird species in Mississippi. Distinguishing this species from other species can be done using size, but it is useful to know the color patterns of this species. In trying to identify this species, begin by looking at the throat, just like the previous species. The feathers covering the throat of the male of this species are a shimmering, bluish-blue color. The same color covers the feathers up to the chest of birds. The purple colored feathers form a patch from under the eye to the neck in a triangular shape, thus giving this species its name. The tail feathers of this hummingbird are set low about the middle of the black band of wings, and end in green-green tips. The female Green-Purple-eared Hummingbird is very similar to the male, except that the color of her breast is the female’s breast is not as brightly colored as the male’s and will have a little bronze.
Attracting these beautiful little birds to the Mississippi area is not very difficult. With its own plants included in the hummingbird garden, the hummingbird enthusiast will certainly have the opportunity to enjoy these little visitors. MARCH TO OCTOBER. A hummingbird garden in Mississippi should include annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines and trees. Annuals to consider include begonias, fuchsia, geraniums, impatiens, lilies, nasturtiums, petunias and zinnias. Perennials to consider are bee balm, burning star, butterfly weed, reed lily, cardinal flower, hornwort, coral bell nine , gladiolus, lantana, penstemon, phlox, red rose, sage, dianthus and verbena. Shrubs include century plants, althea, yucca, abelia, azaleas, butterfly bush, flowering honeysuckle, cissanthemus, jasmine, weigela and red buckeye. Vines include cypress vine, mouse glory, and creeping trumpet and coral cissanthemus. And finally, the trees that include the chestnut tree, coral bean, crabapple, paliurus, locust tree and tulip tree.
