Name That Hummingbird

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Adult Male… www.usgs.gov

Female at Nest with Young… © Marguerite Gregory – California Academy of Sciences

nnovative location – pretty smart!… © 2006 Angela Hyder – calphotos.berkeley.edu

Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae)…

The Costa’s hummingbirds are small – the mature adults are only 3 to 3½ inches in length, and have long, straight, thin bills.

The male Costa’s Hummingbird has a mainly green back and flanks, a small entirely black tail and wings, and patches of white below his gorget (throat) and his tail. The most distinguishing feature is his vibrant purple cap and throat. The iridescent purple-violet throat feathers flare out to a point.

The female Costa’s Hummingbird is not as distinct as the male, having grayish-green upperparts and a gray-white chin and underbelly. Her tail is also dark, but it has white tips on the outer tail feathers.

The juvenile Costa’s Hummingbird are like the adult female in coloring and size. Young males get those fabulous purple markings by their first breeding season.

The Costa’s Hummingbird is fairly common in the arid brushy deserts (and any nearby gardens) of the Southwestern US and the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico.

The male Costa’s Hummingbird’s courtship display is a lively series of swoops and arcing dives, carefully utilizing the optimum angle to the sun to show off his violet plumage. Each high-speed dive, accented by a high-pitched shriek, passes within inches of the female.

The female Costa’s Hummingbird builds a small cup-shaped nest with plant fibers and down, and covers it with lichen to hold it together. The nest is situated above ground on a yucca stalk or tree limb… or cactus (as in the upper right picture).

The female incubates two tiny white eggs for 15 to 18 days. The fledglings leave the nest 20 to 23 days after hatching. Only one brood is raised each year.

Hybrids between the Costa’s Hummingbird and the Black-Chinned Hummingbird, as well as the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird, are known.

The Costa’s Hummingbird commemorates French nobleman Louis Marie Pantaleon Costa, Marquis de Beauregard (1806-1864).

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

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Video… “Male Costas Hummingbird on Tucson Aloe”

Thanks to kerino1 for posting this video on www.YouTube.com

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Costa’s Hummingbird… Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Map Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) This survey is typically performed in June by volunteers on over 4000 bird counts. The counts are done by vehicle during the morning. Many nocturnal or less vocal species are not well surveyed by the BBS. Data from this survey is used to generate the BBS maps. Courtesy of www.usgs.gov

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Costa’s Hummingbird… Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Map Christmas Bird Count (CBC) This survey is typically performed in one calendar day, any time from mid-December to early January by volunteers. Birds are counted in an area with a 15 mile radius. Data from this survey is used to generate the CBC maps. Courtesy of www.usgs.gov

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