Comparison Chart
Fill-in-the-Blank | Answer Key
| Monarch
Butterfly |
Ruby-throated
Hummingbird |
 Photo: Bud Hensley |
 Photo: Bud Hensley |
| Insect | Bird |
| Cold-blooded | Warm-blooded |
| Eats nectar | Eats nectar, insects, and sometimes sap |
| Lays eggs on milkweed plants | Lays eggs in nests |
| Can fly 4 mph (without help from the wind) | Can fly 27 mph (without help from the wind); has been clocked at 60 mph. |
| Spends winter in Mexico | Spends winter in Mexico and Central America |
| Migration enters the U.S. in March and first appears in Texas. | Migration enters the U.S. in March and first appears in the Gulf Coast states. |
| Migrates across eastern US and Canada | Migrates across eastern US and Canada |
| Breeds across eastern US and Canada | Breeds across eastern US and Canada |
| Cannot complete spring migration in one generation. Offspring continue the migration north in place of their parents. | Can complete the entire spring migration in one generation. |
| Monarch butterfly migration map. | Ruby-throated hummingbird migration map. |