Lucifer Hummingbird Gallery

Calothorax lucifer

eBird gives this description of the Lucifer Hummingbird:  Small hummingbird with long, curved bill. Male greenish with paler belly, an iridescent purple throat, and along, forked tail. Female green above with buffy throat, eyebrow, and belly. All ages and sexes are most easily identified by bill shape. Found in deserts; shows a preference for flowering agave plants. Mexican species with very limited range in U.S. Visits hummingbird feeders.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information for the Lucifer Hummingbird:  The tiny, vividly purple-throated Lucifer Hummingbird is mainly a species of northern Mexico and central Mexico. Where it reaches the United States, in extreme southern Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas, it’s a highly sought-after species among avid birders. Lucifer Hummingbird belongs to a group of hummingbird species called “sheartails,” named for their deeply forked, narrow tail.

I watched my first Lucifer Hummingbird while visiting Christmas Mountains Oasis on August 31, 2020.  Indeed, the chance to see this unique hummingbird was one of the reasons I drove out to Big Bend!