Community Photos

1 Broad-billed Hummingbird taken In Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum Aviary by Dan Mitchell on 11/28/08
2 Broad-billed Hummingbird taken by Dan Mitchell on 3/29/13 at Lake Patagonia State Park, Arizona
3 Broad-billed Hummingbird taken by Dan Mitchell at Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona on 3/28/13.
4 Broad-billed Hummingbird taken by Dan Mitchell at Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona on 3/28/13.
5 Broad-billed Hummingbird taken by Dan Mitchell in Miller Canyon on 3/31/13.
6 Although the normal range of Broad-billed Hummingbird barely reaches the southern United States, this species has a propensity to stray far out of range. I saw my first one near Trivoli, Peoria County, Illinois on a 16F degree November day in 1996. It was just a tad warmer when I saw this male at Patagonia, Santa Cruz County, Arizona on 18 April 2015.
7 Although not nearly as gaudy as the adult males, female Broad-billed Hummingbirds are still quite distinctive. Like the male, they have reddish-orange on their bill, though not as extensive. They also have a long broad tail, a conspicuous dark smudge behind the eye and white eye stripe. This bird was at Paton's preserve in Patagonia on 18 April 2015.
8 As if there aren't enough field marks to help you identify a male Broad-billed Hummingbird, it also has a proportionally long and deeply notched tail.
9 In addition to having a colorful bill, adult male Broad-billed Hummingbirds show iridescent colors that seem to include every imaginable tone of green, blue, and purple. When you see one in bright sunlight, each individual is somewhat unique in appearance.
10 Broad-billed Hummingbirds kept cooperating, so I kept taking pictures.
11 It's a good thing that male Broad-billed Hummingbirds are so easy on the eyes, because they are really abundant in southern Arizona. It seemed that about four out of every five hummers that we saw were this species, with most being adult males. This male was at Florida Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona on 19 April 2015.
12 We had to take a second look at this bird before deciding what species it was. The orangish-red base to the bill clearly suggested Broad-billed, but this bird was much duller both above and below than an adult female. Given the date (19 April) we weren't necessarily expecting to see a hatch-year juvenile, but we ended up concluding that this must be one. It shows less red on the bill than an adult female and also had far less green on the flanks than an adult female. This bird was at Florida Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

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