Xantus's Hummingbird

Hylocharis xantusiiOrder: APODIFORMES Family: Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Codes: Common Name: XAHU Scientific Name: HYLXAN ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178068

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Xantus's Hummingbird Breeding Male Portrait

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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.

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

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