"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project" is a cross-disciplinary international initiative in which people collaborate to study behavior and distribution of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Although K-12 teachers and students are the primary target audience, Operation RubyThroat is open to ANYONE interested in hummingbirds.

Most participants live in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama)--countries in which this bird regularly occurs.

Operation RubyThroat operates as an independent project and as a protocol within The GLOBE Program.

Ruby-throats breed in eastern and central North America and southern Canada; most spend winter (September to March) in Mexico and Central America as far south as the Panama Canal. Few details are known about their migration or winter behavior in the tropics, but habitat destruction along and at both ends of the migration path undoubtedly poses danger.

In Operation RubyThroat, participants observe the Ruby-throated Hummingbird in their home countries and share information with peers across North and Central America. Data they collect about hummingbird behavior and distribution are submitted to a central clearing house, analyzed, and then disseminated through this Operation RubyThroat Web site. Participants learn not only about natural history of hummingbirds but reinforce skills in math, writing, geography, foreign language, art, drama, and other disciplines AND gain deeper understanding of the need for environmental cooperation among people of the Americas.

Operation RubyThroat is trademarked by Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and education organization in York, South Carolina USA.

Click on links at left to learn about Operation RubyThroat, become a participant, or help provide financial support.