Black-chinned Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird, male; Portal, AZ

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Black-chinned Hummingbird, female; Portal, AZ

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A hummingbird of relatively modest appearance, the Black-chinned Hummingbird is common throughout much of the western United States. It occupies a range of habitats, from urban areas to desert, and from sea level to over 2,500 meters (8,200 ft).

Description

• Tiny bird.
• Back iridescent green.
• Underparts dirty white.
• Hovers at flowers.
• Male with black chin bordered by thin strip of iridescent purple, visible only in the right light.

• Size: 9 cm (4 in)
• Wingspan: 11 cm (4 in)
• Weight: 2-5 g (0.07-0.18 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with black and purple throat, female with white. Female with white tips to tail feathers. Female larger.

Sound

Call notes include various high chips and ticks. Male's dive display produces a zinging sound.

Conservation Status

Populations have increased with introduction of exotic plants and feeders by humans.

Other Names

Colibri à gorge noire (French)
Colibrí barba negra (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• In cold weather, a Black-chinned Hummingbird may ingest three times its body weight in nectar in one day.
• The Black-chinned Hummingbird's nest can expand as nestlings grow. The spider and insect silk holding it together stretches and allows the nest to grow along with the growing chicks.

• The male and female Black-chinned Hummingbird may use different habitats during the nesting season, with the male in somewhat drier areas. In a study in Arizona and New Mexico, nesting females spent most of their time in canyon bottoms but often relied on nectar sources on nearby hillsides. Males occupied and defended territories on the hillsides but rarely ventured into the canyon bottoms.

• The eggs of a Black-chinned Hummingbird average about 13 mm (0.5 in) long and 8 mm (0.3 in) across, about the same size as a whole coffee bean.

Sources used to construct this page:

Baltosser, W. H., and S. M. Russell. 2000. Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri). In The Birds of North America, No. 495 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.