Selasphorus platycercus
During the last week of May, the southern Rocky Mountains are the site of a most unusual daily migration. Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds make daily reconnaissance flights between their alpine breeding grounds and the lower foothills. Although the males stake out and defend their territories in the alpine, the lack of flowering plants there forces them to feed at lower elevations, where they find flowers, gardens and feeders. During courtship displays and aggressive flights, the males use their tapered primary feathers to produce an eerie, buzzing, insect-like trill. Selasphorus is Greek for 'light-bearing,' and it refers to this bird's bright plumage; platycercus is Greek for 'broad-tailed.' |
I.D.: General: iridescent green upperparts; long, narrow bill; broad tail. Male: red throat; white underparts; green flanks. Female: pale underparts; peach-colored flanks; white throat. Size: L 4 in. (10 cm). Range: common summer breeder in the Colorado Rockies; rare in the central and northern U.S. Rockies. Habitat: ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir and other coniferous forests, disturbed areas, avalanche slopes and burns in the montane and the subalpine up to 10,000 ft. (3000 m). Nesting: often over a stream; tiny cup nest of plant down and spider webs, covered with lichen or leaves, is saddled on a branch; female incubates 2 eggs for up to 16 days. Feeding: probes flowers for nectar while hovering; eats many small insects. Voice: call is a harsh tew; male's wings produce a cricket-like buzz when displaying. Similar Species: Rufous Hummingbird: male is rusty-red overall. Black-chinned Hummingbird: male has a very dark throat. Calliope Hummingbird: shorter bill; female lacks the rufous in the tail. |
