General

Broad-billed Hummingbird: Medium-sized hummingbird with metallic green body and vibrant blue throat. Bill is bright red with black tip. Tail is black, forked, and has white undertail coverts. Female and juvenile have metallic green upperparts, gray underparts, and white eye-line.

Range and Habitat

Broad-billed Hummingbird: Breeds in southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and western Texas. Spends winters south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include canyons, foothills, and streambeds.

Breeding and Nesting

Broad-billed Hummingbird: Two white eggs are laid in a rough, loosely woven cup nest built on a vertical branch in a streamside tree. Female incubates eggs for about 14 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Broad-billed Hummingbird: Diet is primarily nectar from flowers such as ocotillo and paintbrushes; also eats small insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, and root gnats; forages while hovering. Consumes up to 3 times its own body weight each day.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Commercial instant nectars

Vocalization

Broad-billed Hummingbird: Song is a rapid, scratching "chi-dit."

Similar Species

Broad-billed Hummingbird: The White-eared Hummingbird has broader white stripe behind the eye.