Hummingbird with Blue-green Feathers

Here’s a delightful sight: a hummingbird with beautiful blue-green feathers in the United States.

A male Broad-billed Hummingbird has rich blue-green feathers. His colors make him look like a tropical hummingbird, with the red bill and contrasting the blue-green on his body.

The colors on the female are not at bright, but she has the reddish bill.

The Broad-billed Hummingbird comes north into Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. An occasionally a Broad-billed Hummingbird is seen in other states. Like most other hummingbirds in the U.S., the Broad-billed migrates.

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum and southeastern Arizona are good places to see these beautiful birds. If you are making a special visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum to see one, we suggest you call and ask if the birds are around.

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Allen’s Hummingbird in his Flowers

This Allen’s Hummingbird was guarding a patch of Salvia flowers.

In the Flowers …

Picture of an Allen's Hummingbird in his flowers — Allen’s Hummingbird

Allen’s Hummingbirds were busy in two large flower beds of Salvia and Bird of Paradise. There were at least two adult males in the area and an adult female. But we had no idea what their actual numbers were – there was too much chasing.

These Allen’s were in the Newport area of Southern California, close to the ocean. We saw them feed from these Salvia and also from the Lily of the Nile, another purple colored flower. This is a good example of local flowers that attract hummingbirds even if the flowers are not red in color.

As usual with the Allen’s Hummingbirds, they vocalized at each other. They were often easier to hear than to see.

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Hidden Nest

In a Busy Public Garden …

There is a hidden nest on this frond.

A hidden nest atop a frond — A hidden hummingbird nest

The frond leans over a bench in a garden. You could sit right below this hummingbird nest and not know it was there.

We would not have seen this hidden nest on our own. I was told about it. There had been two chicks. They had left the nest.

Clues

An empty hummingbird nest surrounded by many droppings on the surface of the plant frond — An empty, used hummingbird nest

Since we were too late to see the chicks, we looked at the nest for clues. All of the droppings on the leaf are a good sign. The hummingbird babies would have to have grown big to make that much waste. The nest is also flattened out, which happens as the babies get big.

Hummingbird chicks that have recently left the nest call out to their mother to be fed (a high-pitched “peep!). We did see an immature hummingbird nearby but did not hear any peeping or see any begging.

Picture of a young Allen's Hummingbird perching on a small branch — Young Allen’s Hummingbird

We concluded that this was likely an Allen’s Hummingbird nest. We based that conclusion on the many Allen’s Hummingbirds in this coastal Southern California garden. And the nest seemed a little smaller than the Anna’s Hummingbird nests we are used to seeing.

A male Allen's Hummingbird perches amid leaves in a Bottle Brush tree — Allen’s Hummingbird

The garden was busy – with visitors and with many Allen’s Hummingbirds. The hummingbirds were chasing each other during the middle of the day.

If you followed their buzzy, chattering calls, you could find them, high in the trees.

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the most widespread hummingbird in the United States and Canada. If you live east of the Mississippi, you’ve probably seen one … or many.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

An adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird has a black head, a red throat (gorget), and a bright green back. This male hummingbird shows the reddish color in his gorget feathers. It was an overcast and rainy day when this photo was taken. There was not enough light to really show off his red gorget.

Here’s the ruby red

Picture of a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird in flight — Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

This hummingbird’s gorget caught the sunlight as he flew toward me. It is easiest to see the color when the light is behind you but shining directly onto the hummingbird.

Notice the v-notch or forked tail. Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have the v-notch tail and pointy tail feathers.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird in different light

Side view picture of a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird — His Gorget Looks Dark

This is a different adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. His gorget looks dark, almost black. The sun was out, but the angle was not right for the feathers to appear red.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird has a plain whitish throat, perhaps with some light markings, and a bright green back. It can be tough to tell an adult female from a very young bird after nesting season. The immature Ruby-throateds can look like this. I would be more certain in calling this a female if the photo had been taken in the spring before young hummingbirds were about.

Young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

A young male Ruby-throated can have speckling or colored feathers in the throat area. The streaking on this Ruby’s throat, and the stray red feather, show that this is a young male.

Young Ruby-throats in flight

Side view picture of a young Ruby-throated Hummingbird in flight — Young Male?

Guess: young male. Reason: spotted throat.

Close up of Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering next to feeder — Young Female?

Guess: none. Reason: light throat, rounded white tail tips made me think it was a young female. But I have another, less clear, photo of the same (maybe) hummingbird shows what might be a single red feather in center of throat.

Name and Nicknames

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have many dedicated fans. And so, they have many nicknames: ruby throated, ruby throats, rubythroat, ruby, rubies, hummers, hummer birds. Here’s their scientific name: Archilochus colubris.

Ruby-throated Hummers

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrate long, long distances between where they nest and where they spend the winter. The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fly each spring from Mexico and Central America up into Texas, Florida, and rest of the Gulf Coast. They then spread up and through the eastern U.S. and Canada to nest. During their return migration in the fall, they concentrate in large numbers along the Gulf Coast.

We know so much about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in part due to a few dedicated groups and many interested citizens. Great sources of information on Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are Operation RubyThroat, the HummerBird Study Group, and Hummingbirds.net.

Neighborhood birds

A Ruby-throated Hummingbird peers out from behind a cluster of yellow flowers. — Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds like forest edges, parks, and gardens. Just like we do. The picture above was taken in a public park in Rockport, Texas during the 2014 HummerBird Festival.

If you live in the east, we hope you get some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at your park, school, or home next season.

Thanks for coming by. Back to home or pictures of other hummingbird species found in the United States and Canada.

Calliope Hummingbird

Here is the tiny Calliope Hummingbird.

I hoped to see a Calliope Hummingbird all spring and summer but was never in the right area (western mountain areas) at the right time. Finally, they were at Sipe during the fall hummingbird migration, mixed in with the Rufous and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest hummingbird of the United States and Canada. It is also the smallest bird that nests in the United States. It is very small, between 2.75 and 3.25 inches (7.5 – 8 cm) long, including the beak. More facts about the Calliope are here.

Male Calliope Hummingbird

The male Calliope Hummingbirds have spiky dark red gorget feathers. I only saw a few of them, but they were fairly easy to spot in the middle of the other migrating hummingbirds. I looked for their purplish red gorget, small size, and short tail (tail is about as short as wing tips when the hummingbird is perched). They slipped in and out of the crowds at the feeders, not calling attention to themselves.

Female Calliope Hummingbird

The female Calliope Hummingbirds were more tricky to identify. Their pale coloring is similar to other female and immature hummingbirds. I looked for a short tail as well as small size. The picture above is a female Calliope, or perhaps an immature Calliope.

Calliope Hummingbirds in the swarm

Picture of a Calliope Hummingbird clinging to a feeder and feeding while other hummingbirds either feed or confront each other. — Calliope Among Other Hummingbirds

The Calliope Hummingbirds were quiet and discreet in this setting. They would feed quietly while other hummingbirds were fighting and chasing. Sometimes the Calliopes would get flushed off the feeders in the general chaos, but the other hummers mostly left them alone. The male Calliopes did notice each other, but I did not see any bother to give chase.

They were very cute.

Picture of a male Calliope Hummingbird on a feeder — Calliope Compared to a US Penny

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