Difference between revisions of "Black-chinned Hummingbird" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 19:05, 30 May 2024

Photo © by Marysan
Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego, California, 21 April 2005

Archilochus alexandri

Identification

Female
Photo © by HelenB
Davis Mountains, West Texas, USA

3 1/4-3 3/4" (8-10 cm). A small hummingbird.
Male

Green above
iridescent black chin underlined by violet-purple throat band above white
Rest of underside is mostly green and grey
The wings of the adult male makes a soft whistle in flight except in moult.

Female

Green above
White throat and breast
Buff sides
Club shaped primaries
White-tipped outer tail feathers
The head is rather grey with a Post-ocular spot the main distinguishing character.

Similar Species

In East, female difficult to distinguish in field from female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Structure like Ruby-throated: slender, small-headed, and thin-necked. Female distinguished from similar species by overall shape, long bill, flat forehead, drab greyish colour and longer wings with distinct club shaped primaries.

Distribution

Male, showing violet-purple throat band
Photo © by Larry D Smith

Breeds from British Columbia south throughout West to Mexico and central Texas.
Winters in Mexico, though a small number of Black-chinned winter along the Gulf Coast of the USA.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Mountain and alpine meadows, woodlands, canyons with thickets, chaparral, and orchards.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of flower nectar, small insects and spiders. They will come to feeding stations for sugar water.

Breeding

Male
Photo © by Ross Hines
Whitewright, Texas, USA, May 2020

Two white eggs in a nest of fluffy plant wool and lichens woven together with spider webs, placed in a shrub or low tree.

The male Black-chinned, like all hummingbirds, maintains a mating and feeding territory in spring. He courts his female with a dazzling aerial display involving a pendulum-like flight pattern. When mating interest wanes, the male often takes up residence elsewhere, near a good food supply. Later, when plant blooming and insect swarming subside, the birds move south.

Vocalisation

Voice: A low tup.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Baltosser, W. H. and S. M. Russell (2020). Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkchum.01

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-chinned Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-chinned_Hummingbird

External Links

Search for photos of Black-chinned Hummingbird in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[Image:Black-chinned_Hummingbird.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|Marysan|Marysan}}<br />Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego, [[California]], 21 April 2005]]
 ;[[: Category:Archilochus|Archilochus]] alexandri
-[[Image:Black-chinned_Hummingbird.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Marysan]]
-[[Image:Black-chinned_Hummingbird_fem.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by HelenB<br/>Location: Davis Mountains, W. Texas, USA]]
 ==Identification==
-1/4-3 3/4" (8-10 cm). A small hummingbird. '''Male''' green above with iridescent black chin underlined by violet-purple throat band. '''Female''' green above with white throat and breast, buff sides, and white-tipped outer tail feathers.  In East, female difficult to distinguish in field from female Ruby-throated. Structure like Ruby-throated: slender, small-headed, and thin-necked.  Female distinguished from similar species by overall shape, long bill, flat forehead, drab greyish color and longer wings with distinct club shaped primaries.
+[[Image:Black-chinned_Hummingbird_fem.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female <br />Photo &copy; by {{user|HelenB|HelenB}}<br />Davis Mountains, West [[Texas]], [[USA]]]]
+1/4-3 3/4" (8-10 cm). A small hummingbird.<br />
+'''Male'''
+*Green above
+*[[Dictionary D-F#D|iridescent]] black chin underlined by violet-purple throat band above white
+*Rest of underside is mostly green and grey
+*The wings of the adult male makes a soft whistle in flight except in moult. <br />
+'''Female'''
+*Green above
+*White throat and breast
+*Buff sides
+*Club shaped [[Topography#Wings|primaries]]
+*White-tipped outer tail feathers
+*The head is rather grey with a [[Dictionary_P-S#P|Post-ocular]] spot the main distinguishing character. <br />
+====Similar Species====
+In East, female difficult to distinguish in field from female [[Ruby-throated Hummingbird]]. Structure like Ruby-throated: slender, small-headed, and thin-necked.  Female distinguished from similar species by overall shape, long bill, flat forehead, drab greyish colour and longer wings with distinct club shaped primaries.
 ==Distribution==
-Breeds from [[British Columbia]] south throughout West to [[Mexico]] and central [[Texas]]. Winters in [[Mexico]], though a small number of Black-chinned winter along the Gulf Coast of the [[USA]].
+[[Image:Black-chinned_Hummingbird_with_purple_band.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Male, showing violet-purple throat band<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|LdSmith|Larry D Smith}}]]
+Breeds from [[British Columbia]] south throughout West to [[Mexico]] and central [[Texas]].<br />
+Winters in [[Mexico]], though a small number of Black-chinned winter along the Gulf Coast of the [[USA]].
 ==Taxonomy==
-Monotypic.
+This is a [[Dictionary_M-O#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>.
-[[Image:Black-chinned_Hummingbird_with_purple_band.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Photo by Larry D Smith - Black-chinned_Hummingbird_with_purple_band http://www.SouthwestNaturePhotos.com/Larry]]
 ==Habitat==
 Mountain and alpine meadows, woodlands, canyons with thickets, chaparral, and orchards.
 ==Behaviour==
-'''Nesting:''' 2 white eggs in a nest of fluffy plant wool and lichens woven together with spider webs, placed in a shrub or low tree.
+====Diet====
+Their main diet consists of flower nectar, small insects and spiders. They will come to feeding stations for sugar water.
-<br/>The male Black-chinned, like all hummingbirds, maintains a mating and feeding territory in spring. He courts his female with a dazzling aerial display involving a pendulum-like flight pattern. When mating interest wanes, the male often takes up residence elsewhere, near a good food supply. Later, when plant blooming and insect swarming subside, the birds move south.
+====Breeding====
+[[Image:BlackChinnedHummingbird0520small.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Male<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|RCHines|Ross Hines}}<br />Whitewright, [[Texas]], [[USA]], May 2020]]
+Two white eggs in a nest of fluffy plant wool and lichens woven together with spider webs, placed in a shrub or low tree.
+<br />The male Black-chinned, like all hummingbirds, maintains a mating and feeding territory in spring. He courts his female with a dazzling aerial display involving a pendulum-like flight pattern. When mating interest wanes, the male often takes up residence elsewhere, near a good food supply. Later, when plant blooming and insect swarming subside, the birds move south.
 ====Vocalisation====
 Voice: A low ''tup''.
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug19}}#Baltosser, W. H. and S. M. Russell (2020). Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkchum.01
+{{ref}}
 ==External Links==
-{{GSearch|Archilochus+alexandri}}
+{{GSearch|"Archilochus alexandri" {{!}} "Black-chinned Hummingbird"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
 [[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Archilochus]]