Broad-tailed Hummingbird

The Broad-tailed Hummingbird breeds in high-elevation meadows and forest edges of the Rocky Mountains and surrounding ranges, often at altitudes where few other hummingbirds are found. Males are best known not only for their glowing rose-magenta gorget but also for the distinctive metallic trilling sound produced by their wings in flight, audible well before the bird is seen.

The male's gorget is a bright rose-magenta to pinkish-red, set against a green back and crown, with whitish underparts washed lightly with buff on the flanks. The tail is somewhat broader and more rounded than in some other Selasphorus hummingbirds, giving the species its name. Females lack the colored gorget, showing a plain whitish throat sometimes lightly spotted, a green back, and buffy-white underparts. Compare with the Rufous Hummingbird, which shows extensive rufous coloring on the back, flanks, or tail that the Broad-tailed Hummingbird generally lacks.

Males display the rose-magenta gorget and green back described above; females and immatures are green-backed with a plain or lightly spotted whitish throat and buffy underparts. Juveniles resemble females, with young males acquiring gorget color gradually through their first year. The male's wing feathers are structurally modified to produce the species' distinctive trilling flight sound, a feature tied to specific primary feather shape rather than color.

Breeds in mountain meadows, open pine and aspen forest edges, and shrubby slopes across the Rocky Mountains and other ranges of the western United States, extending into Mexico. It is a migratory species, moving to Mexico for the winter and returning to high-elevation breeding grounds each spring.

Feeds on nectar from mountain wildflowers and small insects, often seen at high elevation meadows during the breeding season. Males produce a distinctive metallic trilling sound with their wings during normal flight, a useful identification clue independent of plumage. Its call includes sharp, high chip notes. Nests are small cups of plant down and lichen, typically placed on a low branch, often reused or built upon in subsequent years.