Name That Hummingbird

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Adult Male… © Donald Mathis – www.animalpicturesarchive.com

Adult Female… © Donald Mathis – www.animalpicturesarchive.com

Adult Female Feeding Nestlings… www.wikipedia.org

Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope)…

The Calliope hummingbirds are very small – the mature adults are only 2-3/4 inches in length. In fact, they are said to be the smallest bird found in Canada and the United States.

Perhaps this explains the “necessity” for such amazing throat display by the male during courting and in fights. Check out the image below… see what I mean?

Both the male and female Calliope Hummingbirds have glossy green on their backs and crowns, and white underparts. Their bills and tails are relatively short.

The adult male Calliope Hummingbird has wine-red streaks on his throat, green flanks, and a dark tail.

The female and juvenile Calliope Hummingbirds have a pinkish wash on their flanks, dark streaks on their throats, and dark tails with white tips. The male’s tell-tale throat streaks develop by the time the young male reaches his first breeding season.

The breeding habitat of the Calliope Hummingbird is open shrubby areas, usually at higher altitudes. It ranges in western North America from southern British Columbia and Alberta, south to Colorado and southern California. (Impressively, Calliope Hummingbirds have been identified in Fort Tryon Park, New York. Also, one was identified and banded in Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, Connecticut.)

The female builds an open cup nest in a conifer, under an overhanging branch. She incubates two tiny eggs (half the size of jelly beans) for 15 to 16 days, and normally only has one brood a year. The young fledge between 18 to 23 days after hatching. Even after fledging, the mother will often continue to feed them until they start fending for themselves.

Calliope Hummingbirds are migratory, generally leaving their breeding grounds earlier than most birds (although not as early as the Rufous Hummingbird) in order to take advantage of late-summer wildflowers in the mountains of western North America. Their winter range is mostly in southwestern Mexico.

The Calliope Hummingbird was named after the Greek muse Calliope. The genus name means “little star”… very appropriate.

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

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Video… “Colorado Hummingbirds”

(about 45 seconds into the video)

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

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Calliope Hummingbird… Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Map  (This map is not available from the USGS, at present.)

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Calliope Hummingbird… Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Map  (This map is not available from the USGS, at present.)