🦋 Common green darner vs Ruby-throated hummingbird 🐦
The common green darner and the ruby-throated hummingbird are about the same size. The ruby-throated hummingbird is about one and a half times as fast as the common green darner.
| Row | 🦋 Common green darner | 🐦 Ruby-throated hummingbird |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The ruby-throated hummingbird is about one and a half times as fast as the common green darner. | 37 mph60 km/h1 | 60 mph97 km/h2 |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the common green darner yet. | no checked number yet | 0.11 to 0.12 oz3 to 3.5 g3 |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the common green darner yet. | no checked number yet | 5 to 9 years5 to 9 years4 |
| Eats The common green darner eats bugs; the ruby-throated hummingbird eats plants and animals. | mosquitoes, flies, midges and other small flying insects | nectar from flowers, and tiny insects |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | ponds, marshes and meadows across North America, with some flying south for winter | eastern North America in summer; Mexico and Central America in winter |
Which one? Common green darner or ruby-throated hummingbird
🏁 Who would win the race?
The ruby-throated hummingbird gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about one and a half times as fast as the common green darner. It isn't quite fair: the common green darner is flying and the ruby-throated hummingbird is diving through the air.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/green-darner-vs-hummingbird
- 🦋 All about the common green darner
- 🐦 All about the ruby-throated hummingbird
- ⚖️ Compare Two
- 🐾 All the animals
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Species Spotlight: Dragonflies, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, checked 30 October 2026.