Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Female 900by720-HumBird1084.jpg in Arapaho National Forest, CO
Broad-tailed Hummingbird by Margie. VIEW ENCOUNTER
Hungry Hummers in Peak to Peak Scenic Byway, CO ...

Broad-tailed Hummingbird Photos

I've been down to Arizona several times for vacation with my family, and for some reason I keep missing getting photos of these guys.

Broad-tailed hummingbird Selasphorus platycercus
Identification Tips:
Length: 3.75 inches
Long, straight, thin bill
Medium-sized hummingbird
Bright green back and crown
White underparts with buff and green wash on flanks ...

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)
The male Broad-tailed's wings make a cricket-like whistle in flight. One female Broad-tailed holds the North American age record, at twelve years old.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Relatives in same Genus
Volcano Hummingbird (S. flammula)
Rufous Hummingbird (S. rufus)
Allen's Hummingbird (S. sasin)
Scintillant Hummingbird (S. scintilla) ...

The Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Selasphorus platycercus
The Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) occurs in the Rocky Mountains of the southwestern United States southward into Mexico and Guatemala.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird Selasphorus platycercus. Occasional in late fall, winter, and early spring, mainly in Gulf Coast region.

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird
Broad-tailed hummingbird, Selasphorus Platycercus, ...

Female and immature Broad-tailed Hummingbirds have less rufous on the inner tail feathers, whitish, not rusty undertail coverts and more blue-green backs, as well as being larger with different calls.

[9] The longest recorded lifespan in the wild is that of a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird that was banded (ringed) as an adult at least one year old then recaptured 11 years later, making her at least 12 years old.

Other birds which make sounds with their wings include Mute Swans, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bellbirds and the New Zealand Tui. Perhaps the best known of these percussive sounds is the drumming of woodpeckers.

Mourning doves, broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus), Mexican jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina), bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus), Bewick's wrens (Thryomanes bewickii), great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus), ...

The extent of use of urban areas by this species is not well known. Costa's is known to hybridize with Calliope, Anna's, Black-chinned, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, which can dilute the gene pool of each of these species.

See also: Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Calliope hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Perch