Broad-Bills and Broad-Tails in the Huachucas

Two different Hummingbird species at the same feeders

There were all sorts of Hummingbirds at Beatty’s feeders in Miller Canyon. I’ve shared the Rivoli’s and the Violet-crowned. Now I’ll compare Broad-billed to Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. Broad-billed Hummingbird males are one of the gaudier Hummingbirds around. You can see the broad bill for which they are named.

Many Broad-tailed Hummingbirds were at Beatty’s. They are the most common breeding Hummingbird in high elevations here in the summer and can be found above 5000 feet. We see them during migration seasons at lower elevations. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds have a long tail and red gorget, barely evident in this shot. (Correction: this is a photo of an Anna’s Hummingbird, not a Broad-tailed Hummingbird)

Female Broad-billed Hummingbirds do not have that deep blue breast. They do have a broad bill that is orange at the base.

As with most male Hummingbirds, the sun has to hit the gorget feathers just right for the color to pop. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are known for their red throats. If the angle of the sun varies, then the color may display as orange or even yellow. Those throat feathers are not pigmented red. The microscopic structure of the feathers polarizes the light, causing the iridescence when light hits it at just the right angle.

This is a male Broad-billed Hummingbird that hatched this spring. Now, at the end of his first summer, he is beginning to grow in his blue adult plumage. Right now that blue is patchy but by next summer this will be an adult Broad-bill in its full glory.

You can see how this Broad-tailed Hummingbird has a long tail which extends beyond the tips of the bird’s feathers. While Hummingbird bills appear to be very stiff, the ends of each bill can flex. The bird may be just stretching its jaw muscles now, like a yawn, to reset the jaw joint.

One more look at the Broad-billed Hummingbird. Unlike the Broad-tail, this bird’s tail does not extend beyond its wings.

And one final look at the Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Hummingbirds can be seen sticking their tongues out while perched for a number of reasons. They may be clearing nectar off the tongue. They may be repositioning the long tongue as Anderson Cooper explains here.

Broad-billed and Broad-tailed are both Hummingbirds that share behaviors and that can be found in southern Arizona and the Southwest during breeding season. However, they look different and are generally seen at different elevations. Broad-bills generally are found in the desert and low elevation areas while Broad-tails are a high elevation species.