Ruby-throated Hummingbird at cardinal flower
Archilochus colubris
Ruby-throated Hummingbird · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 13 August 2026
A Ruby-throated Hummingbird at cardinal flower in the August border, the only hummingbird that breeds in the East and a summer visitor to Brooklyn from Central America. Cardinal flower is a native of wet ground, and in August it is the plant the garden's hummingbirds live on.
No red throat visible: a female, or a young male still to come into his gorget. Cardinal flower's deep red, oddly shaped tube is built almost exclusively around this one pollinator. Bees generally can't manage the flower's shape or reach its nectar, and hummingbirds are the main reason it gets pollinated at all.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
Every photograph comes with notes on what it is.
Selected
Favourite shots. Filter by subject, or .
Places
Everything, by where it was taken.
Species
Larger catalogue of photos organized by species of animal or plant.
Catalogue
Every photograph, newest first. Narrow it by period, place or species; the three work together.
Updates
Coming soon. Sign up at the bottom of the page for updates.