Xantus's Hummingbird

Hylocharis xantusiiOrder: APODIFORMESFamily: Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

General

Xantus's Hummingbird: Small hummingbird with glittering green upperparts, head, throat, and breast, black face with distinct white stripe behind eye, and cinnamon-brown belly. Squared tail is rufous. Female is duller and lacks black face and green on throat.

Range and Habitat

Xantus's Hummingbird: Rare to accidental in southern half of the peninsula of Baja California. Normally found in Mexico (Purissima south to San Jose del Cabo). Preferred habitats include arid to semiarid scrub, open brushy forests, and gardens.

Voice Text

"tink, tink, tink", "chi-tiik"

Interesting Facts

The Xantus's Hummingbird was named after John Xantus de Vesey, a Hungarian zoologist.

It has been recorded as a vagrant up the Pacific coast of North America to British Columbia in Canada.

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

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Xantus's Hummingbird

Xantus's Hummingbird: Small hummingbird with glittering green upperparts, head, throat, and breast, black face with distinct white stripe behind eye, and cinnamon-brown belly. Squared tail is rufous. Feeds on nectar and insects. Direct and hovering flight with very rapid wing beats.

● Song: "tink, tink, tink", "chi-tiik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Xantus's Hummingbird: Eats nectar and insects, forages low to mid-level.

● Breeding & nesting: Xantus's Hummingbird: Two dull white eggs are laid in a nest made of seeds, plant down, and dried flower heads, covered with lichens, and built from 4 to 12 feet above ground in a tree. Incubation ranges from 14 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Xantus's Hummingbird: White-eared Hummingbird has dark green upperparts, black ear patch, and no rufous in tail, purple chin and crown, and white belly; female has white throat with streaks and green dots, and pale green underparts.

Flight Pattern

Direct and hovering flight with very rapid wing beats.

Xantus's Hummingbird Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Xantus's Hummingbird: Rare to accidental in southern half of the peninsula of Baja California. Normally found in Mexico (Purissima south to San Jose del Cabo). Preferred habitats include arid to semiarid scrub, open brushy forests, and gardens.

^BreedingSolitary nester

^PopulationRare to accidental

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight0.1 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America