A friend in Colorado Springs Colorado is using one of my hummingbird feeders--a red Four O'Clock. Her common local hummingbirds are Broad-tailed, Black-chinned, and I think also Calliopes. She took these photos of a bird which she believes to be a Broad-tailed. She thinks it is either an adult female, or an immature of either sex.

The birds were very backlit, so I lightened them up in Photoshop, but not sure if there's sufficient detail to tell anything. Are these Broad-tailed? Seems like a Black-chinned would have a more down curved bill. The feeder is 5 1/4" long from the base of the bottle including the flower, so I crudely drew in some measurement lines on one of the photos. It would appear that this bird is a hair under 3 1/2" long, which seems maybe a bit small for the Black-chinned and Broad-tailed, but it sure doesn't seem like a Calliope.

I know the photos aren't ideal, but can anyone tell what species this is?



...and the same photo with measurements:


...and another...

I'll let Nancy make a more definitive call if she can, but it does appear to be a Broad-tailed Hummingbird to me. My guess would be that it's a female, but the only immature male I've seen close up was much later in the development process (in January) so it already had a good bit of gorget coming in. The hordes of them I saw in Arizona last year were of all ages and sexes, but I didn't get to do close-up looks at them.

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

Kristin, Broad-tailed for sure and the smaller size suggests that it is a female as they are smaller than the males. A Black-chinned would not likely show any traces of rufous/cinnamon and a Calliope would have a short bill and a stubby, squared tail. The bill of a Black-chinned is not always decurved, but it is very long.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

Thank you Kevin, and Nancy. My friend knew that it was a Broad-tailed, but wasn't sure of the age or gender. I guess from what you're saying, it's likely a female, but impossible to tell from the photos whether it is a young one or an adult.

I saw Broad-tailed Hummingbirds many years ago when I was hiking in Colorado, but it's so long ago, I barely remember. I've also seen Anna's in the wild, in addition, of course, to my local eastern Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I've seen and illustrated a Costa's Hummingbird, which lived to a very advanced age at the aviary in Pittsburgh, so those are the only North American hummingbirds that I've actually seen. I've also seen a few tropical species from my Aviary days, and also some in Puerto Rico.

One of these years, I would love to expand my horizons with a trip to Arizona or somewhere in Central or South America!