Rufous hummingbird

nectar.

And this Rufous hummingbird's deeply territorial.

If another hummingbird comes even close, it attacks, and the other less angry birds, I guess, go away.

They, they can't...

I moved a few feeders around on the deck, and it worked itself out.

I was proud of myself, and my hummingbirds kept on coming, and there were lots of them, and everyone was happy.

And I just assumed that I was oh so clever, and I guess the Rufous bullies just moved on somewhere else, and I felt like I had outsmarted them.

Folks, that was hubris on my part.

But even as ruby-throated hummingbirds head south, you might see a different kind of hummingbird showing up in late autumn and early winter in our region.

A rust-colored bird known as the rufous hummingbird.

Back in November 1990, National Aviary Ornithologist Bob Mulvihill caught the first rufous hummingbird that any researcher had documented in the state.

For the Allegheny Front's Bird Files series in 2014, Mulvihill had more on the rufous hummingbird.

Just about every written account of the rufous hummingbird uses the word feisty.

That's because this three-inch-long, three-gram bird is anything but pint-sized when it comes to defending its territory or driving off potential predators.

With its aerial maneuverability and speed, the rufous hummingbird is a match for intruders hundreds of times its size.

Jays, hawks, cats, and even humans are likely to buzz off when this mighty mite of a bird dive bombs them.

It's all species of hummingbirds.

Rufous are crazy territorial.

Just absolutely insane.

How do you stop it? You don't.

The ruby throat, the expected one, and four others.

The ruby-throated and black chinned are both in the archilochus genus, meaning they are very, very closely related.

Rufous, broad-tailed, and calliope are celestrous hummingbirds, also closely related.

Be cautious of the light angle.