Bird name:

Bumblebee Hummingbird

Atthis heloisa

Order

APODIFORMES

Family

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Code 4

BUHU

Code 6

ATTHEL

ITIS

178045

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Desert, semi, Canyons, Shrubs

Breeding Type:

Polygamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Rare

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

15 - 16

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lichen, spider webs, plant down, bark fiber, moss.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Bumblebee Hummingbird: One of the smallest hummingbirds at 2.75 inches with green upperparts, sides, and white underparts. The gorget is violet-red and the rounded tail is green with a rufous base. Female has whitish throat with bold lines of dusky spots, and buff underparts with light rufous-washed sides. Juveniles resemble females, but the juvenile male has some pink on throat.

Range and Habitat

Bumblebee Hummingbird: Native to montane forests of Mexico north to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Has been spotted twice in the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona.

Breeding and Nesting

Bumblebee Hummingbird: Two white eggs are laid in a cup-shaped nest of lichen, spider webs, plant down, bark fiber, and moss. Female builds the nest 3-20 feet above the ground in the limb of a conifer. Eggs are incubated by the female for 15-16 days. Young fledge at 18-22 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Bumblebee Hummingbird: Hovers to feed on nectar from flowers. Catches insects in midair, and plucks insects and spiders out of webs. Feeds and perches at low to mid-levels. This bird can hover in a horizontal position with its tail cocked vertical as it feeds on nectar.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water

Vocalization

Bumblebee Hummingbird: Has a high-pitched repetitive "chip" and a thin drawn-out "ssssssssiu" usually given by a perched bird.

Similar Species

Bumblebee Hummingbird: Calliope Hummingbird is smaller, male has violet and white streaked gorget, notched tail lacks rufous feathers with white tips, female has less white on tips and no rufous at base of tail feathers. Costa's Hummingbird has no rufous on base of tail, male has violet on crown and forehead, female has white underparts, lacks streaking on throat.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Gorget

A small iridescent patch on the throat of a hummingbird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America