Gardening for a hummingbird’s travels

Hummingbirds are unlike any other bird. Spanning the Americas with over 330 species, hummingbirds belong to Trochilidae, the second-largest bird family in the world. However, only the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) inhabits the Midwest. This hummingbird migrates south in late summer, with the males migrating first, typically in August. Before the non-stop flight to overwintering sites, this bird needs abundant food sources to fuel its journey to Florida, Texas, Central America, or Mexico.