Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: Sid & Shirley Rucker/Vireo
Cynanthus latirostris
Conservation status | Very common in limited range in U.S. and in parts of Mexico. |
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Family | Hummingbirds |
Habitat | Streamsides, foothill oak woodlands. Breeds mostly in semi-open habitats at around 3,000-5,000 feet in Arizona. Favors areas with streamside groves of sycamore or cottonwoodand with dense mesquite thickets, or open oak woodlands in lower canyons. In winter may be found along streams in desert country. |
At flowers, usually feeds while hovering, extending its bill and long tongue deep into the flower. At feeders, may either hover or perch. To catch small insects, may fly out and grab them in midair, or hover to pluck them from foliage; sometimes will take insects from spider webs.
2. White. Incubation is by female only, probably more than 2 weeks. Young: Female feeds the young, sticking her bill deep into their mouths and regurgitating tiny insects, perhaps mixed with nectar.
Female feeds the young, sticking her bill deep into their mouths and regurgitating tiny insects, perhaps mixed with nectar.
Mostly nectar and insects. Takes nectar from flowers, and eats many tiny insects as well. Favors red or orange tubular flowers such as bouvardia or desert honeysuckle. Will also feed on sugar-water mixtures in hummingbird feeders.
Male has soft jumbled song, not often heard; seems to defend territory mostly by perching high, watching for intruders and chasing them away. Nest site is in deciduous shrub or low tree, saddled on horizontal or drooping branch or placed in fork, usually 3-9 feet above the ground. Nest (built by female) is a relatively loose cup of grasses, plant fibers, spider webs, lined with plant down. The outside is camouflaged with bits of leaves or bark; unlike many hummingbird nests, outside usually not decorated with lichens.
Located on the grounds of Tucson Audubon's Paton Center for Hummingbirds, this feeder attracts a range of hummingbird species.
Flowers are beginning to bloom, and hummingbirds are starting to return from their southern winter sojourns. Here’s a regional guide for when they should arrive and the food they’re seeking.
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