Broad-tailed Hummingbird Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, though tiny, are medium-sized for a North American hummingbird. They have a slender body, a big head, and a long straight bill. Its tail is relatively long for a hummingbird, extending beyond the wingtips when perched.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Calliope Hummingbird, slightly smaller than a Rufous Hummingbird.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 3.1-3.5 in (8-9 cm)
    • Weight: 0.1-0.2 oz (2.8-4.5 g)

  © Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  The Broad-tailed Hummingbird is iridescent green above with greenish or buffy flanks and a white chest and line down the belly. Adult males have a rose-magenta throat patch (gorget). Females and juveniles have green spots on their throats and cheeks and a pale eyering. When they spread their tail in flight, they flash white tail tips.

• Behavior

  Broad-tailed Hummingbirds zips from flower to flower, hovering above flowers to drink nectar. When males are zipping around they make a loud metallic-sounding trill with their wings. Males also perform aerial displays, flying high into the sky and rapidly diving towards the ground making a shrill metallic trill with their wings.
• Habitat

  Broad-tailed Hummingbirds breed in high-elevation meadows, shrubby habitats near pine-oak and evergreen forests, and forest openings within pinyon-juniper, oak woodlands, and evergreen forests in the western United States.