Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 3.1–3.5 in
8–9 cm - Wingspan
- 5.1 in
13 cm - Weight
- 0.1–0.1 oz
3–4 g
Other Names
- Colibrie vibrador, Chupamirto cola ancha (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Broad-tailed Hummingbird enters torpor, a slowed metabolic state, on cold nights. It maintains a body temperature of about 12.2°C (54°F) when ambient temperatures fall below 10°C (44°F).
- In some areas of Broad-tailed Hummingbird breeding habitat, cold air descends into valleys at night, with warmer areas upslope. This phenomenon is called a thermal inversion. The male Broad-tailed Hummingbird, which does not attend the nest, goes upslope at night to conserve heat, reducing the energy costs of thermoregulation by about 15 percent.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Open woodland, especially pinyon-juniper and pine-oak association, brush hillsides, montane scrub and thickets, in migration and winter also open situations in lowlands where flowering shrubs are present.
Food
Nectar
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1–3 eggs
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Hovering
Conservation
Least Concern
Vulnerable to window strikes, collisions with automobiles, and electrocution by livestock fences.
Credits
- Calder, W. A. and L. L. Calder. 1992. Broad-tailed Hummingbird. In The Birds of North America, No. 16 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists’ Union.