General

Calliope Hummingbird: Very small hummingbird with metallic green upperparts and flanks, and white underparts. Throat feathers are long and purple-red, appearing as streaks on a white background, whiskers when fluffed out, or dark, inverted V when folded. Female and juvenile have pale rufous flanks, green upperparts, white underparts, and small dark spots on throat.

Range and Habitat

Calliope Hummingbird: Breeds in mountains from central interior British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, south through Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California to northern Baja California, and east to northern Wyoming, western Colorado, and Utah. Spends winters from northern to central Mexico. Found in mountains (along meadows, canyons and streams), in open montane forests, and in willow and alder thickets. Commonly found in chaparral, lowland brushy areas, and deserts during migration and in winter

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"si tsi-tsi, tsi-tsi", "see-ree", "tsip"

Interesting Facts

 The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest breeding bird in North America and the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world.

 It prefers high mountains, and has been seen as high as 11,000 feet.

 This bird was named after the Greek muse Calliope. The latin name Stellula means "little star," given for the male's streaked purple-red gorget over a white background.

 A group of hummingbirds has many collective nouns, including a “bouquet", "glittering", "hover", "shimmer", and "tune” of hummingbirds.

Author

Gary Owen Dick