In summer, hummingbirds can be found in the Midwest wherever flowers bloom. Strong breast and shoulder muscles help them fly across 600 miles of Gulf water in spring and fall. Ruby-throated hummingbirds nest in the open woods of the central and eastern U.S. in summer. Winter grounds are from south Texas and Mexico to Costa Rica. Hidden in the upper branches of a tall maple or elm, the nest looks like a gray basket, woven of milkweed silk, plant fibers and hair.
Northern orioles feed in the trees, searching for caterpillars, beetles and fruit.
During winter, orioles drink mostly nectar from flowers. Wintering habitat includes scattered trees and woodland borders from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela. A warbler, the American redstart is a bird of the forest edge. Nesting areas are in forest of the midwestern and northern U.S. and southern Canada. American redstarts winter from Mexico to the West Indies and northwestern South America.