"HUMMINGBIRD MORNINGS" For 2009, informative and entertaining hummingbird banding presentations are already scheduled around the U.S. (For more information, click on logo at left) If your group would like to host "Hummingbird Mornings" anywhere in the U.S. or Canada in 2009 or later, contact Bill Hilton Jr.

FLASH!
Operation RubyThroat teams with EarthTrek so
citizen scientists--like YOU--can contribute observations
about hummingbird migration & nesting behavior

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• Operation RubyThroat HOME PAGE (English) or (Spanish)
• HILTON POND CENTER FOR PIEDMONT NATURAL HISTORY
• HUMMINGBIRD HOBNOB, the on-line discussion group about Hummingbirds and Operation RubyThroat

• PROJECT DETAILS for Operation RubyThroat
  -- General Information
  -- Timeline
  -- Recruitment of Participants
  -- Scientific Rationale
  -- Sampling of Cross-disciplinary Activities
  -- Funding
  -- Principal Investigator (Bill Hilton Jr.)

• WHAT'S NEW? with Operation RubyThroat
  A constantly changing list of recent hummingbird happenings

• PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES for Operation RubyThroat
  
  -- BASIC ACTIVITIES
  ------ #1: Hang a Hummingbird Feeder
  ------ #2: Plant a Hummingbird Garden
  ------ #3: "Happier Than a Hummingbird"
  
  -- PUZZLES, QUIZZES & COLORING PAGES
  ------------ Group A: PUZZLES
  ------------------ WordSearch #1: "Hummingbird Thoughts"
  ------------------ Crossword #1: "Hummingbird Potpourri"
  ------------ Group B: Coloring Pages
  ------------------ #1: "Ruby-throated Hummingbird & Trumpet Creeper"
  ------------ Group A: Quizzes
  ------------------ #1: "The Truth about Hummingbirds"
  ------------------ #2: "Hummingbirds by the Numbers"
  
  -- BASIC OBSERVATIONS
  ------ #1: Hummingbird Arrival Dates (Spring)
  ------ #2: Hummingbird Departure Dates (Autumn)
  
  -- RESEARCH PROJECTS
  ------ Biology (including Plant-Animal Interactions)
  ------------ Group A: Hummingbird Botany
  ------------------ #1: Flowering Phenology in Trumpet Creeper
  ------------------ #2: Hourly Variations in Hummingbird Flowers
  ------------ Group B: Behavioral Ecology of Hummingbirds
  ------ Meteorology
  ------------ Group A: Migration & Weather
  ------------------ #1: Impact of Tropical Storms & Hurricanes
  ------------ Group B: Tropical Weather Conditions
  ------------------ #1: Profile of climatological conditions on wintering grounds
  ------ Physics & Applied Engineering
  ------------ Group A: Flight
  ------------------ #1: Hummingbird Flight Speeds
  ------------ Group B: Acoustics
  ------------------ #1: Analyzing Hummingbird Sounds
  ------ Chemistry & Environmental Science
  ------------ Group A: Chemistry
  ------------------ #1: Chemical & caloric content of nectar
  ------------ Group B: Environmental Science
  ------------------ #1: Herbicide and pesticide use in foraging areas
  ------ Computers, Mathematics & Measurement
  ------------ Group A: Mathematical Analysis
  ------------ Group B: On-line Technology
  
  -- CROSS-DISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES
  ------ Operation RubyThroat Activities and Howard Gardner's Theories of "Multiple Intelligences"
  ------ Art
  ------------ #1: Hummingbird Cartoons
  ------------ #2: Hummingbird Video
  ------------ #3: Hummingbird Mobile
  ------------ #4: Hummingbird Origami #1
  ------ Drama
  ------------ #1: Hummingbird Mimes
  ------------ #2: Hummingbird Playlet
  ------ Geography
  ------------ #1: Hummingbird Road Map
  ------ Music
  ------------ #1: Hummingbird Musical Adaptations
  ------ Mathematics
  ------------ #1: Hummingbirds by the Numbers
  ------ Writing
  ------------ #1: Hummingbird Poetry
  ------------ #1: Hummingbird Mythology
  
  -- INTER-GRADE or INTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
  ------ #1: Biology Students Teaching Life Science or Elementary Students
  ------ #2: Horticulture Classes Adopting Primary Students

• HOW TO PARTICIPATE in Operation RubyThroat
  -- Participation by a Teacher & Student Group (including parents who are home-schooling their children)
  -- Participation by any Other Leader (nature center personnel, scout leaders, workshop leaders, etc.)
  -- Participation by any Other Individual (individual students grades K-16 OR individual adults, including parents)

• RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS
  -- Taxonomy
  -- Summer & Winter Distribution (range map)
  -- Migration
  -- Habitat
  -- Size & Mass
  -- External Appearance
  ------ Albino & Leucistic Hummingbirds
  -- Anatomy & Physiology
  ------ Beak, Mouth Cavity & Tongue
  ------ Digestion
  ------ Circulation
  ------ Respiration & Air Sacs
  ------ Lymphatic System
  ------ Excretion
  ------ Musculature
  ------ Reproductive System
  ------ Nervous System & Brain
  ------ The Senses: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Smell & Touch
  ------ Glandular System
  ------ Skin
  ------ Skeleton
  -- Flight Behavior
  -- Reproductive Behavior
  -- Territorial Behavior
  -- Foraging Behavior & Feeding
  -- Ecological Relationships
  -- Interesting Facts

• HUMMINGBIRD BANDING
  -- Who Bands Birds and Why
  -- Hummingbird Bands
  -- Capturing Hummingbirds
  -- How Hummingbirds are Banded
  -- Ageing & Sexing Hummingbirds
  -- Measuring Hummingbirds
  -- Color-marking Hummingbirds
  -- Hummingbird Banding Results
  ------ Banding Peaks
  ------ 16-year Banding Totals
  ------ Age/Sex Ratios
  ------ Returns
  ------ Foreign Recovery
  ------ Foreign Re-trap
  ------ Foreign Sightings of Color-marked Hummingbirds
  ------ Banding Dates for Adult & Juvenile Hummingbirds

• ATTRACTING & FEEDING HUMMINGBIRDS
  ------ Landscaping for Hummingbirds
  ------------ Water
  ------------ Shelter & Space
  ------------ Food: Natural & Otherwise
  ------------------- Hummingbird Habitats
  ------------------------- Native Plants
  -------------------------------"Top Ten" Native Hummingbird Plants
  ------------------------------------- #1: Trumpet Creeper, Campsis radicans
  ------------------------------------- #2: Beebalm or Oswego Tea, Monarda didyma
  ------------------------------------- #3: Trumpet Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens
  ------------------------------------- #4: Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis
  ------------------------------------- #5: Spotted Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis
  ------------------------------------- #6: Red Columbine, Aquilegia canadense
  ------------------------------------- #7: Canada Lily, Lilium canadense
  ------------------------------------- #8: Indian Pink, Spigelia marilandica
  ------------------------------------- #9: Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia
  ------------------------------------- #10: Mountain Rosebay or Catawba Rhododendron, Rhododendron catawbiense
  ------------------------- Exotic Plants
  -------------------------------"Top Ten" Exotic Hummingbird Plants
  ------------------------------------- #1: Pineapple Sage, Salvia elegans
  ------------------------------------- #2: Giant Blue Sage, Salvia guaranitica
  ------------------------------------- #3: Cypress Vine, Ipomoea quamoclit
  ------------------------------------- #4: Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeana
  ------------------------------------- #5: Mimosa or Silktree, Albizia julibrissin
  ------------------------------------- #6: Shrub Verbena, Lantana camara
  ------------------------------------- #7: Butterfly Bush, Buddleja davidii; also spelled Buddleia
  ------------------------------------- #8: Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus
  ------------------------------------- #9: Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea
  ------------------------------------- #10: Cigar Plant, Cuphea ignea
  ------------------- Hummingbird Feeders
  ------------------------- Hummingbird Feeding Hints
  ------------------------------------- Bees & Ants at Feeders
  ------------------------------------- Raccoons at Feeders
  ------------------------- Hummingbird Flower Gallery
  

• HUMMINGBIRD MISCELLANY
  
  -- Hummingbird Gallery (photos & other illustrations)
  -- Questions & Answers about Hummingbirds
  ------ Age
  ------ Appearance
  ------ Banding
  ------ Behavior
  ------ Distribution
  ------ Ecology
  ------ Feeders & Feeding
  ------ Gardening
  ------ Longevity
  ------ Migration
  ------ Miscellaneous
  ------ Myths & Fallacies
  ------ Nest & Eggs
  ------ Other Species
  ------ Photography
  ------ Physiology
  ------ Reproduction
  ------ Site Fidelity
  ------ Territoriality
  
  -- What To Do About Hummingbirds That Are . . .
  ------ Injured
  ------ Caught
  ------ Babies
  ------ Dead
  ------ Overwintering
  
  -- Other Hummingbird Species, including a list of all hummingbirds found in Mexico, the United States, or Canada, linked to comparative photos of the following species:
  ------ Allen's Hummingbird
  ------ Anna's Hummingbird
  ------ Black-chinned Hummingbird
  ------ Blue-throated Hummingbird
  ------ Broad-billed Hummingbird
  ------ Broad-tailed Hummingbird
  ------ Buff-bellied Hummingbird
  ------ Calliope Hummingbird
  ------ Costa's Hummingbird
  ------ Crowned Woodnymph
  ------ Cuban Emerald
  ------ Green-breasted Mango
  ------ Green Violetear
  ------ Lucifer Hummingbird
  ------ Magnificent (Rivoli's) Hummingbird
  ------ Plain-capped Starthroat
  ------ Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  ------ Rufous Hummingbird
  ------ Violet-crowned Hummingbird
  ------ Violet Sabrewing
  ------ White-eared Hummingbird
  ------ Xantu's Hummingbird
  
  -- Hummingbird Checklists by Country
  
  -- Hummingbird Checklists by State (U.S.)
  
  -- Where to Find Hummingbirds
  
  -- Hummingbirds & Culture
  ------ American Indians & Hummers
  ------ Hummingbird Tales
  ------ Kachinas & Totems
  
  -- Hummingbird-related Websites
  
  -- Hummingbird Articles
  
  -- Hummingbird References
  ------ Popular Books About Hummingbirds
  ------ John James Audubon's Description of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  ------ Technical & Periodical References
  
  -- List of Hummingbird Banders
  
  -- Glossary of Hummingbird Terms
  
  -- Website Archives
  
  -- Staff, Trustees, and Advisory Council
  
  -- Technical Information about this Website
  
  -- Funds Available For Schoolyard Hummingbird Gardens

• FUNDING & DONATIONS for Operation RubyThroat
  -- List of Supporters
  
  -- Order the highly coveted Operation RubyThroat T-Shirt

• POST YOUR DATA for Operation RubyThroat

• GUESTBOOK
  -- Sign Our Guestbook
  -- Read Postings by Other Visitors
  -- Map of States in the United States from which Operation RubyThroat Guestbook postings have come
  

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Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project
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Operation RubyThroat is a registered trademark of Bill Hilton Jr. and Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York, South Carolina USA, phone (803) 684-5852. Contents of the overall project and this website--including photos--may NOT be duplicated, modified, or used in any way except with the express written permission of the author. To obtain permission or for further assistance on accessing this website, contact Webmaster.