Costa's Hummingbird

Calypte costaeOrder: APODIFORMES Family: Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Codes: Common Name: COHU Scientific Name: CALCOS ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178035

Breeding Location:

Desert, Desert, semi, Scrub vegetation areas

Breeding Type:

Polygamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

15 - 18

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Plant down, forb leaves, bud scales, flowers, and bark strips bound with spider silk.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Costa's Hummingbird: Medium-sized hummingbird with green back, pale gray underparts and dull green flanks. Crown and throat patch are brilliant metallic purple. Tail is green with black outer tail feathers. Female and juvenile have white throat, sometimes speckled with purple. Tail is green with white-tipped outer tail feathers.

Range and Habitat

Costa's Hummingbird: Breeds from central California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah southward. Spends winters in southern California and Mexico. Prefer arid habitats supporting Joshua trees and cholla cacti.

Breeding and Nesting

Costa's Hummingbird: Two white eggs are laid in a delicately woven cup with leaves or lichens fastened to the outside, built low on a protected branch of a bush or small tree. Incubation ranges from 15 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Costa's Hummingbird: Feeds mainly on nectar, but supplements diet with insects; forages while hovering.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Commercial instant nectars

Vocalization

Costa's Hummingbird: Call is a combination of a pale "chip" and high tinkling notes.

Similar Species

Costa's Hummingbird: Lucifer Hummingbird has strongly decurved bill, green crown, and deeply forked tail. Female Lucifer is strongly buff below, has decurved bill, and forked tail. Female and immature Anna's is larger with darker throat and duller underparts. Female Archilochus Hummingbird has streaked 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.

Costa's Hummingbird

Costa's Hummingbird: Medium hummingbird with green back, pale gray underparts and dull green flanks. Crown and throat patch are brilliant metallic purple. Straight black bill. Tail is green with black outer tail feathers. Legs and feet are black. Feeds on nectar, spiders, sap and insects. Direct and hovering flight with very rapid wing beats.

● Song: "chip-chip-chip-chip"

● Foraging & Feeding: Costa's Hummingbird: Feeds mainly on nectar, but supplements diet with insects; forages while hovering.

● Breeding & nesting: Costa's Hummingbird: Two white eggs are laid in a delicately woven cup with leaves or lichens fastened to the outside, built low on a protected branch of a bush or small tree. Incubation ranges from 15 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Costa's Hummingbird: Lucifer Hummingbird has strongly decurved bill, green crown, and deeply forked tail. Female Lucifer is strongly buff below, has decurved bill, and forked tail. Female and immature Anna's is larger with darker throat and duller underparts. Female Archilochus Hummingbird has streaked throat.

Flight Pattern

Hovers when feeding.

● Range & Habitat: Costa's Hummingbird: Breeds from central California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah southward. Spends winters in southern California and Mexico. Prefer arid habitats supporting Joshua trees and cholla cacti.

^BreedingPolygamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.1 Ounces

Underparts

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

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Outer tail feathers

The tail feathers farthest from the center.

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