--- title: Hummingbird Species Can Fly 1,200 Miles Without Stopping description: A type of hummingbird that measures just a few inches in length can fly more than 1,200 miles without stopping canonical: https://time.com/4252432/hummingbird-migration-pattern/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-09T22:53:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:44:49.537Z article:section: Science og:title: This Tiny Hummingbird Can Fly 1,200 Miles Without Stopping og:description: They're unlike other hummingbirds previously studied og:url: https://time.com/4252432/hummingbird-migration-pattern/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt515fcfb4e819a49b/69888a60196cf4778503aaea/humming-bird-migration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4800 og:image:height: 2700 og:image:alt: hummingbird migration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Tiny Hummingbird Can Fly 1,200 Miles Without Stopping twitter:description: They're unlike other hummingbirds previously studied twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt515fcfb4e819a49b/69888a60196cf4778503aaea/humming-bird-migration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Tiny Hummingbird Can Fly 1,200 Miles Without Stopping > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 9, 2016 10:53 PM UTC  A Ruby-throated Hummingbird A Ruby-throated Hummingbird Education Images—UIG via Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 9, 2016 10:53 PM UTC A type of hummingbird that measures just a few inches in length can fly more than 1,200 miles without stopping during its annual migration from the U.S. East Coast to Central America, according to new [research](http://www.aoucospubs.org/toc/tauk/133/2.). The new study, published in the journal _The Auk: Ornithological Advances,_ provides some of the first evidence on how Tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds travel during their fall migration_._ The results suggest that the [species](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ruby-throated-hummingbird) has significant differences from the Rufous Hummingbirds—its more studied counterpart. But some Tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are better equipped for their annual journey than others. The study shows that older birds tend to migrate earlier, travel faster and arrive with relatively few wounds from their journey. Male birds can also travel farther without rest than their female counterparts. Researchers in Alabama temporarily captured more than 2,700 passing hummingbirds over a five-year period to learn about the migration patterns of the bird. Still, much remains unknown about the impressive bird’s flight. The birds are capable of flying over the over the entire Gulf of Mexico in one flight, but it remains unclear whether they travel over or around it. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4252432/hummingbird-migration-pattern/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4252432/hummingbird-migration-pattern/"},"headline":"This Tiny Hummingbird Can Fly 1,200 Miles Without Stopping","datePublished":"2016-03-09T22:53:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:44:49.537Z","description":"They're unlike other hummingbirds previously studied","url":"https://time.com/4252432/hummingbird-migration-pattern/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt515fcfb4e819a49b/69888a60196cf4778503aaea/humming-bird-migration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt515fcfb4e819a49b/69888a60196cf4778503aaea/humming-bird-migration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"hummingbird migration","caption":"hummingbird migration","creditText":"Education Images—UIG via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4252432/hummingbird-migration-pattern/","name":"This Tiny Hummingbird Can Fly 1,200 Miles Without Stopping"}}]}] ```