Broad-billed Hummingbird - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Lorenz_C
Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 29 January 2021

Cynanthus latirostris

Identification

Female
Photo by UncleGus_24
Green Valley, Arizona, February 2010

9-10cm (3½-4 in)
Male

• Metallic green upperparts and breast
• White undertail coverts
• Deep blue throat
• Dark, slightly forked tail
• Black-tipped slender red bill
  

Female: less colourful, white eye stripe

Distribution

Immature
Photo by Raul Padilla
Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, May 2010

Southwestern United States to central Mexico.

Accidental vagrant to Kansas.

Taxonomy

Turquoise-crowned Hummingbird and Tres Marias Hummingbird were recently split from Broad-billed Hummingbird.

Subspecies

Juvenile
Photo by Brian Hubbs
SE Arizona, September 2016

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• C. l. magicus:

• Arid south-western US to north-western Mexico (Nayarit)

• C. l. latirostris:

• Eastern Mexico (San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas to northern Veracruz)

• C. l. propinquus:

• Central Mexico (Guanajuato to Michoacán)

Habitat

Lower riparian woods, forested mountains (observed to 5500 feet), high desert, oak and Alligator pine, orange groves. Visits garden feeders.

Behaviour

When perched, the male quivers his tail. often whilst calling.

Breeding

The female builds the nest in a tree or shrub. The clutch consists of 2 white eggs.

Diet

The diet includes nectar and insects.

Vocalisation

Call: They have a loud chittering call which is similar to the call of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but more emphatic and without the pauses in the phrasing of the kinglet.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2) DRAFT. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Dickinson, EC, ed. 2014. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 4th ed. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0956861122
4. Sibley, CG and BL Monroe. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
5. Birdforum Member observations
6. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Broad-billed Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Broad-billed_Hummingbird

External Links

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