Broad-billed Hummingbird

  (Cynanthus latirostris)

 

E-bird gives this description for the Broad-billed Hummingbird:  Brilliantly-colored hummingbird with dark tail and mostly red bill. Primarily a Mexican species, but occurs locally in the southwestern U.S. Can appear all dark at a distance, but in the right light, look for beautiful iridescent blues and greens on male’s body. Females are less colorful than males, dusky grayish below with prominent white stripe behind the eye. Compare especially with female White-eared Hummingbird, which is more spotted below and has a broader white eyestripe and darker cheek. Occurs in scrubby riparian woodland, canyons, and thorn forest. Often visits hummingbird feeders.  All About Birds gives this additional information about the Broad-billed Hummingbird:  The Broad-billed Hummingbird is a beauty in a beautiful family. The male’s vivid red bill, emerald body, and glittering sapphire throat sets it apart from other U.S. hummingbirds. Most of this species’ range lies in Mexico, but it reaches the mountainous canyons of the southwestern U.S. during the breeding season. There it brightens shady, flower-filled ravines and residential gardens, and is a frequent visitor to hummingbird feeders. In courting the female, the male makes a precision flight display likened to a hypnotist’s swinging pocket watch.

I saw my first Broad-billed Hummingbird at the Tucson Audubon Society’s Paton Center for Hummingbirds on the morning of Wednesday, August 3, 2022, in Patagonia, Arizona.  I was at the Center with a small group from the Southwest Wings Festival, led by Richard Fray.  I really enjoyed seeing and photographing this special bird!

BEAUTIFUL BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD AT THE PATON CENTER IN PATAGONIA, ARIZONA ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 3, 2022.
NOTE THE MOSTLY RED BILL, DARK TAIL, AND BEAUTIFUL IRIDESCENT BLUES AND GREENS ON THE BODY OF THIS BROAD-BILLED HUMMER AT THE PATON CENTER.
THIS ANGLE ALLOWS YOU TO SEE HOW BROAD THE BASE OF THIS HUMMER'S BILL IS-- THUS THE NAME, BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD!

Friday afternoon (August 5, 2022) our small birding group visited Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon.  While there, a Broad-billed Hummingbird made an appearance and I was able to get photographs.  

BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD AT SANTA RITA LODGE IN MADERA CANYON, AUGUST 5, 2022.
BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD AT SANTA RITA LODGE IN MADERA CANYON, ARIZONA.

On the final day of my Southwest Wings Birding Festival trip, after my last guided tour (Saturday, August 6, 2022), I drove down to Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary (Richard Fray sits on the Board, and highly recommended spending some time there).  I thoroughly enjoyed the two hours I spent there, and I saw many hummingbirds, including some Broad-billed Hummers, whose photos I have posted below.  To see my blog post that includes my sightings of Broad-billed Hummingbirds and my visits to the Paton Center, Santa Rita Lodge, and Ash Canyon, look here.

THE FIRST BROAD-BILLED HUMMER I SPOTTED AT ASH CANYON ON AUGUST 6, 2022.
BEAUTIFUL COLORS ON THIS ASH CANYON BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD.
I TOOK THIS PHOTO WHILE ALMOST DIRECTLY BENEATH THIS BROAD-BILLED HUMMER, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW WIDE THE BILL IS AT THE BASE.


“Cool Facts” About the Broad-billed Hummingbird From All About Birds:

    • A Broad-billed Hummingbird consumes about 1.6 to 1.7 times its body weight in nectar each day.
    • In the male Broad-billed Hummingbird’s courtship display, he hovers about a foot from the female and then flies back and forth in repeated arcs, like a pendulum.
    • Hummingbirds have tiny feet and legs, and they are incapable of walking or hopping.
    • Like many other bird species, Broad-billed Hummingbirds are attracted to the sound of diurnal owls such as Ferruginous and Northern Pygmy-Owls. They often dive at the owl’s head, perch nearby, and call. Other birds join in, and the behavior is called “mobbing.” It may help alert the smaller birds to the predator’s presence, reinforce for young birds what predators look like, or help drive the predator away.
    • The oldest recorded Broad-billed Hummingbird was a male at least 9 years, 1 month old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Arizona.