Scientific Name: Archilochus alexandri

Residency: Summers are spent throughout the state.

Diet: Nectar; will also consume insects and spiders, especially the female when laying her eggs.

Predators: There have been sporadic reports of predation by the greater roadrunner, the brown-crested flycatchers and the Mexican jay. Snakes eat eggs and fletchlings.

Nesting: Breeding occurs from April through July. The nest is a small cup constructed from soft plant down or seeds and mosses; it is held together on top of a branch with spider webbing. The nest is usually lined with hair or feathers. Two bean-sized eggs are laid.

Nesting Records:

Notes: The black-chinned hummingbird is the most common hummingbird in the western United States, and population numbers have remained stable within the Sonoran Desert for decades. This population stability exists presumably because this bird visits over 90 species of plants in addition to artificial feeders for nectar, rendering this species much less threatened than other species by the growing urbanization throughout its range.

Photo: Photo at right was taken at Scottsdale Community College on July 23, 2006. For more photos click on camera icon.

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