Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Adult male. Photo: Tom Ingram/Audubon Photography Awards
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Cynanthus latirostris
| Conservation status | Very common in limited range in U.S. and in parts of Mexico. |
|---|---|
| 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. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
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.
Eggs
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.
Young
Female feeds the young, sticking her bill deep into their mouths and regurgitating tiny insects, perhaps mixed with nectar.
Diet
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.
Nesting
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.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
A rapid, scratching chi-dit, like the note of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.How Climate Change Will Reshape the Range of the Broad-billed Hummingbird
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Climate threats facing the Broad-billed Hummingbird
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
Broad-billed Hummingbird In the News More News
Bird Cams
Patagonia, Arizona: Hummingbird Feeder Webcam
Located on the grounds of Tucson Audubon's Paton Center for Hummingbirds, this feeder attracts a range of hummingbird species.
Birding
When to Expect Hummingbirds in Your Yard This Spring
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.
