From Opus

Photo by colorob
Littleton, Colorado, USA, August 2005

Selasphorus platycercus

[edit] Identification

9-10cm

• Green upperparts
• White underparts
• Buff and green flanks
• Bill is almost straight
  

Male

• Red throat
• Outer primary is attenuated which gives a buzz in the flying bird
  

Female
Photo by nitiman
Alto, New Mexico, USA, April 2007

Female

• White throat speckled with iridescent green or bronze

[edit] Distribution

Southwestern US to Mexico and Guatemala.

Casual vagrant to Kansas.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

[edit] Habitat

Mountain meadows and forests , pine-oak woodland, arid shrubland observed at 7500 feet. Readily visits garden feeders, even in urban areas.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

The nest is cup-shaped and secured to a branch by spiders' webs. The 2 white eggs are incubated by the female for 16 days. The young fledge 23 days later.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes nectar and insects.

[edit] Vocalisation

Young Male
Photo by vansutherland
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 2003

The wings of the male make a high-pitched whistling noise.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Wikipedia
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links