If you look closely, you will notice a metal band on the leg of this young Ruby-throated Hummingbird. It serves to identify unique individuals of these tiny birds and allows biologists to track their migration path. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds breed in the eastern USA during the summer, but they spend the winter in lower Central America. This bird was banded on an RTPI project in western Costa Rica and returned to the same site a year later, after it had made another successful trip to North America – a journey of at least 4,000 miles. Impressive for a bird that weighs not much more than a penny! 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird photographed by Twan Leenders for the ‘Meet Your Neighbours’ project.
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