Montana Field Guide

Broad-tailed Hummingbird - Selasphorus platycercus

A hummingbird of medium size, the Broad-tailed Hummingbird is fairly long-bodied, 9 cm (3.5 inches), and has a relatively long wingspan, 13 cm (5.25 inches). The female is generally the larger of the two sexes. The male has a rose-magenta throat patch, or gorget, while the throat of the female is white with varying amounts of speckling of faint bronze, iridescent green, or the rose-magenta feather color typical of the male's gorget. Both sexes have an iridescent green back and a long broad tail, the latter of which extends beyond the wingtips. The base of the outer tail feathers is rufous in color, beyond which a thin line of green is edged in a thicker band of black or purplish-black and terminated in white. The majority of the tail is green. The center of the male's breast is white, with green and buffy flanks, while the flanks of the female are primarily buff or pale cinnamon in color. The male has a line joining the white of the neck to white on the chin via a line at the back of the gorget traveling through the eye-ring. The eye-ring of the female is pale from which a pale white line travels behind the spotted cheeks to join the white throat (Ridgeway as cited in Calder and Calder 1992, Johnsgard 1986, Sibley 2000). The bill is black, iris brown, and feet dusky (Calder and Calder 1992).

Without a true song, vocalizations of the Broad-tailed Hummingbird are generally described as a "chitter, chitter, chitter" or "tiputi, tiputi," produced by the male to intruders into established territory, while females produce a similar sound when protecting nesting or feeding sites (Calder and Calder 1992, Sibley 2000). The long tapered wing tips on the male create a trill during flight. This is especially evident during territorial defense (and mating display) dives, which may descend from 40 feet. This sound is described as similar to the call of a Cedar Waxwing, or as a buzzy, insect-like trill (Johnsgard 1986, Sibley 2000).

The broad, lengthy tail is the most notable feature that distinguishes the Broad-tailed Hummingbird from other hummingbird species. The Rufous Hummingbird has a tail primarily rufous in color, whereas the Broad-tailed Hummingbird's tail is dominated by green, black and white, with rufous coloration only the base of the outer tail feathers (Sibley 2000). The combination of the broad tail, overall larger size, and buff or buff-and-green flanks distinguish this from other hummingbird species common in the state.

Montana Range

All observations in Montana have occurred in May, June, or July (Montana Bird Distribution 2003). No observations to indicate earlier spring dates or fall migration are available.

In general, breeding populations in the U.S. and northern Mexico move south for winter and are usually absent from the northern portions of their range by the end of September, and from the southern U.S. by the end of October. Northward migration through the southern U.S. in the spring occurs during late February to mid-April, allowing for arrival on northern breeding areas around mid-May.

No specific habitat information is available for Montana. Reported use in surrounding states (Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado) includes habitat similar to that found in Montana and may include ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and aspen (Populus tremuloides) groves, as well as mountain meadows and pinyon-juniper woodlands (Johnsgard 1986).

Elsewhere, the species is typically found in open woodland, especially pinyon-juniper, pine-oak, and conifer-aspen associations. The Broad-tailed Hummingbird can be found on brushy hillsides in montane scrub and thickets. During migration and winter, they may select open areas in lowlands replete with flowering shrubs. Movement to higher elevations after breeding is not uncommon (Johnsgard 1983).

There is no information on food habits available for this species in the state. Data from studies in other parts of the species' range indicate the diet includes nectar (primary sources vary with location but typically includes red tubular flowers) and small insects and spiders obtained from flowers, foliage, or by hawking (Calder and Calder 1992). See Johnsgard (1983) for a review of nectar sources in different areas.

No ecological information regarding this species exists for Montana. In other areas of the species' range, including Arizona, males defended breeding territory that averaged about 2040 square meters. In Colorado, males were observed displaying close to one another in apparent lek (see Johnsgard 1983). They may compete with Rufous Hummingbird for the same food resources in some areas.

No information considered as direct evidence of breeding in Montana has been recorded.

Breeding records from other locations indicate the Broad-tailed Hummingbird may breed after the first year. The female constructs the cup nest of a variety of plant materials including rootlets and moss, lined with plant down, secured with spider webs, and decorated with flakes of lichen or bits of plant fiber. They are usually positioned on a low, horizontal branch (1 to 4 meters in height) of willow, alder, cottonwood, pine, fir, spruce, or aspen, and often over water. Nesting may occur in tall sycamores or pines at 6 to 9 meters (Johnsgard 1983, Baicich and Harrison 1997).

A clutch consists of two white, smooth-surfaced, elliptical-oval or subelliptical eggs, 9 mm by 13 mm. Egg-laying starts mainly in June to July in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Incubation by the female last 16 to 17 days. The young are tended by the female, and fledge in 21 to 26 days (18 days also reported). Occasionally 2 broods will be attempted in one season. Females may choose to nest in close proximity to one another.

No management activities specific to the Broad-tailed Hummingbird in Montana are documented.