Birds of Zion National Park

The Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) is a medium-sized hummingbird. It is 9–10 cm long, and weighs approximately three to four grams.
The breeding habitat is in arid scrub of southeastern Arizona-(the Madrean sky islands of Arizona, extreme southwestern New Mexico and northern Sonora) in the southwestern United States to southwestern Mexico. Outside its breeding range, it will occasionally stray from southernmost California to Texas and Louisiana. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Females lay two white eggs. This hummingbird is partially migratory, retreating from northernmost areas during the winter.
The diet of the Broad-billed Hummingbird is primarily nectar from flowers such as the red blossoms of Ocotillo and Paintbrushes. They eat sugar-water from hummingbird feeders as well. Because of their metabolic rate, it is not uncommon for them to eat five to ten times an hour. As a result of their high-energy output, hummingbirds need to consume 1 ½ - 3 times their body weight in nectar each day. Broad-billed Hummingbirds also need protein; therefore they are known to eat many insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, bugs, and root gnats. Hummingbirds will consume more water in a day than solid foods (Sayre 1999; Terre 1980).
Broad-billed Hummingbirds pollinate many flowers. As a result, this helps to support the ecomonic growth of the ornamental horticulture industry.(Page and Morton 1989). They are of least concern in terms of their endangered status. less ↑