Booted Racket-tail vs Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ocreatus underwoodii compared with Archilochus colubris
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Booted Racket-tail | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ocreatus underwoodii | Archilochus colubris |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Trochilidae | Trochilidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | 8.5 cm (3.3 in) |
| Wingspan | 8.5 cm (3.3 in) | 11.0 cm (4.3 in) |
| Weight | 2.8 g (0.10 oz) | 3.1 g (0.11 oz) |
| Diet | Nectarivore of Andean foothill forest; visits Ericaceae and Heliconia flowers. Catches small insects in aerial … | Nectar from tubular flowers, supplemented with small insects and spiders for protein. Feeds at over … |
| Clutch Size | 2 | 2 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Deciduous and mixed forests, woodland edges, gardens, and parks with flowering plants. Migrates across the Gulf of Mexico.
Song & Call Comparison
Booted Racket-tail
Melodic, rolling phrase with liquid quality; warm bubbly notes tumbling in pleasant continuous musical sequence.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Soft, high-pitched chattering and twittering 'chee-dit'. Also produces a thin 'tik' call in flight. Wing beats create an audible high-pitched humming buzz during hovering.
Geographic Range & Migration
Booted Racket-tail
Widespread in Andean foothill and cloud forests from Venezuela south through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. 200–1,800 m.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Eastern North America from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast. Winters in Central America and southern Mexico.
Conservation Status
Booted Racket-tail
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
How to Tell Them Apart
Booted Racket-tail
Blue-throated Starfrontlet: males with glittering blue gorget; metallic bronze-green; females green above; spotted buff underparts
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Metallic green upperparts and greyish-white underparts. Males have a brilliant iridescent ruby-red gorget that appears black in poor light. Females lack the gorget.
Long, straight, thin black bill adapted for probing flowers
About These Birds
Booted Racket-tail
A small hummingbird (8-10 cm plus 5-7 cm tail rackets in males) widely distributed in Andean cloud forests from Venezuela to Bolivia at 1,500-3,000 m. Males have long, wire-like outer tail feathers ending in dark blue racket tips and fluffy white leg puffs. A cloud forest icon.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only breeding hummingbird in eastern North America. These tiny birds beat their wings about 53 times per second and can fly backwards, sideways, and even briefly upside down. They make an extraordinary non-stop 800 km crossing of the Gulf of Mexico during migration.