Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Selasphorus platycercus
Summary 5
The Broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) is a medium-sized hummingbird, nearly 4 in (10 cm) in length.
Distribution 6
Selasphorus platycercus is a migratory species with some resident populations in Mexico. Migratory populations breed in Colorado and Wyoming, while tropical resident populations breed in central Mexico. Their winter range expands from northern Guatemala to northern Mexico. Information on non-migratory populations is lacking (Calder and Calder, 1992).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Morphology 7
Broad-tailed hummingbirds are sexually dimorphic. Males have a metallic iridescent-rose colored gorget, green colored sides and back with some rufous color in the tail. The females are less colorful, lacking a complete gorget, and exhibiting buffy colored sides and a green back. Females are larger than males but body mass can vary during the course of a day based on nectar intake. Juvenile males look like adult females and are difficult to distinguish. (Kaufman, 2000).
Range mass: 3 to 4 g.
Range length: 83 to 97 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Habitat 8
The breeding habitat of broad-tailed hummingbirds includes willows around wet or dry stream beds, pinion, juniper, spruce and oak woodlands. They are known to nest as high as 3,230 m. In their winter range, which overlaps with the breeding range of resident populations in Mexico, broad-tailed hummingbirds use thorn and oak forests at lower elevations, and mixed oak-pine and cypress as well as fir forests at higher elevations. Because of the year-round availability of hummingbird feeders in some areas, some individuals have taken up residence in urban and suburban areas of southwestern United States (Calder and Calder, 1992).
Range elevation: 1,000 to 4,000 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; riparian
Migration 9
Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
Breeding populations in the United States and northern Mexico move south for winter. They have departed from the northern part of the range usually by the end of September and from the southern United States by the end of October. Northward migration through the southern United States occurs from late February to April. Migrants arrive in northern breeding areas around mid-May.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Chuck Roberts, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/colorob/6062736832/
- (c) Javier Salgado, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Javier Salgado
- (c) Cullen Hanks, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Cullen Hanks
- (c) worsehalf, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by worsehalf
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selasphorus_platycercus
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31422232
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31422234
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31422233
- (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28952097
