Rivoli’s Hummingbird
Rivoli's Hummingbird
Eugenes fulgens
At a Glance
A big, long-billed hummingbird of forests in the southwestern mountains. Almost as large as the Blue-throated Hummingbird found in the same ranges, the Rivoli's is not usually so aggressive or conspicuous, but some individuals are very pugnacious in defending flower patches or feeders, even fighting with the Blue-throat at times. In hovering flight, the wingbeats are almost slow enough for the human eye to see.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Hummingbirds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Arroyos and Canyons, Forests and Woodlands
Region
Rocky Mountains, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Flitter, Hovering, Rapid Wingbeats
Population
2.000.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Summer resident in the southwest, probably migrating only a short distance south into Mexico for the winter. Occasionally winters at feeders in Arizona.
Description
4 1/2 -5 1/2" (11-14 cm). A large, long-billed hummingbird. Male's green throat and purple crown flash in good light, but usually bird looks all dark, with white spot behind eye. Female plainer; note size, long bill, white stripe behind eye, mottled gray-green sides, small pale tips on outer tail feathers.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Purple
Wing Shape
Narrow, Rounded, Short
Tail Shape
Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
A high-pitched teek, not as drawn out as call of Blue-throated Hummingbird.
Call Pattern
Flat, Simple
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip
Habitat
Mountain glades, pine-oak woods. In southwestern U.S., usually in mountains at elevations of 5,000-9,000 feet. Inhabits shady canyons with sycamore and maple, open hillsides with pine-oak woodland, coniferous forest of higher mountains. Less restricted to streamsides than Blue-throated Hummingbird.
Sign up for Audubon's newsletter to learn more about birds like the Rivoli's Hummingbird
Behavior
Eggs
2. White. Incubation is by female only, probably about 16 days.
Young
Female feeds the young, sticking her bill deep into their mouths and regurgitating tiny insects, perhaps mixed with nectar.
Feeding Behavior
At flowers, usually feeds while hovering. 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 or from bark; sometimes takes spiders and trapped insects from spider webs.
Diet
Mostly nectar and insects. Takes nectar from flowers. Also does much foraging in woodland away from flowers, watching from a perch and then flying out to catch passing insects. Will also feed on sugar-water mixtures in hummingbird feeders.
Nesting
Breeding and courtship behavior not well known. Male will sing a squeaky, scratchy song from a favorite perch in between bouts of chasing rivals. Nest site is in a tree such as pine or maple, 10-60 feet above the ground, saddled on a horizontal branch. Nest (built by female) is a compact cup of moss, plant fibers, spider webs, lined with plant down and sometimes feathers. The outside is camouflaged with bits of lichen.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Common in its limited U.S. range. May be vulnerable to habitat loss in Mexico and Central America.