Name That Hummingbird

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Adult Male… http://www.desertmuseum.org

Adult Male (blue even shows up in bad light)… www.usgs.gov

Adult Male (note both eye streaks)… www.usgs.gov

Blue-Throated Hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae)…

The Blue-throated hummingbirds are large – the mature adults are 4½ inches to 5 inches in length.

The male Blue-Throated Hummingbird has a long, thin bill. He is dull green on the top of his body, fading to medium gray on his belly. There is a conspicuous white stripe behind his eye and a narrower stripe extending backward from the corner of his bill, bordering a blackish cheek patch. His tail feathers are iridescent blue-black with broad white tips on the outer two to three pairs. His throat patch (gorget) is an iridescent blue.

The female Blue-Throated Hummingbird is identical to the adult male, except she lacks the blue throat patch. Instead, she has a plain gray throat.

The juvenile Blue-Throated Hummingbird are identical to the adult females. The young males develop their blue throat patch by their first breeding season.

Bird watchers are cautioned that the female Blue-throated hummingbird is similar in size and coloring to the female Magnificent hummingbird. The key identifiers are the Blue-throated’s large white tail tips and white facial stripes.

The Blue-throated hummingbird is native to mountain woodlands of Mexico. During the summer it is an uncommon to rare resident of moist, wooded canyons in southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas in the United States, and northeastern Sonora, Mexico. A few individuals now traditionally winter at feeding stations in southeastern Arizona.

The male takes no part in nest building or care of the young. The female Blue-throated hummingbird constructs the nest from plant fibers, down, and weed stems, and then uses lichens and spider webs to strengthen the nest. Frequently, she locates it over water (she favors flowing streams).

She lays two white jelly-bean sized eggs, which she will incubate for 17 to 19 days. The young will leave the nest 24 to 26 days after hatching. Amazingly, she can raise up to three broods a year when conditions are ideal. It’s not unusual to find nest “towers”… often the female builds each new nest right on top of the previous nest.

Male blue-throated hummingbirds sing two types of songs: a simple “peep” song (like a squeaky wheel), and a quiet but complex “whisper” song. The female is also reported to sing during the breeding season to attract the attention of males.

Acknowledgements: www.wikipedia.com www.usgs.gov

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Video… “Chillin’ Bluethroated Hummingbird"

Thanks to birdbits for posting this video on www.YouTube.com

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