My Favorite Hummingbird

Last but certainly not least is my favorite of the hummingbirds in Madera Canyon, the Black-chinned. As the name suggests, th male has a black chin until they turn and flash their gorget at you and display a beautiful purple. They are pretty chatty and always let me know when they were near. While they feed on over 90 species of flowers, the black-chinned also eats small insects and spiders particularly during nesting season.

Size: 9 cm (4 in)
Wingspan: 11 cm (4 in)
Weight: 2-5 g (0.07-0.18 ounces)

The Rarity

The White-eared Hummingbird is a rare visitor to the United States, and as it turned out, to our feeders. She much preferred the honeysuckle growing nearby to our feeders but I managed to capture one shot of her on my first day in Arizona. There were many birders visiting Madera Canyon in hopes of glimpsing this rare beauty.

Size: 9-10 cm
Weight: 3-4 g

The Largest Hummingbird

The Magnificent Hummingbird is the largest hummingbird that visits North America. It sounded like a helicopter was landing when he came into the feeder. Just as vibrant as the Broad-billed male, the Magnificent was much more shy. He would zoom into the feeder, take a quick drink and zoom back off without stopping to pose like the smaller bird did quite often. Adding shyness to size and infrequent visits made the Magnificent a very challenging species to photograph.

Size: 11-14 cm (4-6 in)
Wingspan: 18 cm (7 in)
Weight: 7-8 g (0.25-0.28 ounces)

Beyond Amazing

I'm sorry to have been away for so long but I hope you'll agree it was worth the wait when you see the images I've brought home. I just spent an amazing week in Arizona with photographers Joe and Mary Ann McDonald. We encountered six different species of hummingbirds in Madera Canyon as well as over 45 species of other birds.

These are the female and male Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus). These medium sized hummingbirds were such talkers you knew they were coming into the feeder well in advance of their arrival because of all the chattering. The male had a lovely pink gorget (throat) which looked black unless he was facing you.

On cold nights these birds enter a state of torpor with body temperatures as low as 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

Size: 3-4 inches
Wingspan: 5 inches
Weight: 0.11-0.14 ounces