Sun's Out, Tongue's Out

A female ruby throated hummingbird approaches a lantana camara tree at Ottawa's Canada Agriculture and Food Museum to sip on the nectar it provides. This brightly-coloured plant is highly attractive for a variety of pollinators. It produces high nectar and its blooms change to colours that attract pollinators like hummingbirds. Ruby throated hummingbirds are the only species of hummingbirds Ottawa sees. It is only the males that adorn the ruby throat path - females have only white on their neck. The average lifespan of this type of hummingbird is between three and five years, although the oldest female on record reached nine years of age, according to All About Birds.