Costa's hummingbird

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Costa's hummingbird
Male above, female below

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Calypte
Species:
C. costae
Binomial name
Calypte costae
(Bourcier, 1839)
Range of C. costae
  Breeding range
  Year-round range
  Wintering range

Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae) is a bird

southwest United States and northwest Mexico; it winters in western Mexico.[3]

Taxonomy

Costa's hummingbird was

monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[8]

Hybrids between this species and Anna's hummingbird, the black-chinned hummingbird as well as the broad-tailed hummingbird are known.[9]

Description

This species is small, as a mature adult grows to only 3–3.5 in (7.6–8.9 cm) in length, with a wingspan of 11 cm,

gorgeted throat and tail. Its most distinguishing feature is its vibrant purple cap and throat with the throat feathers flaring out and back behind its head.[3] The female is not as distinct as the male, having grayish-green above with a white underbelly.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Costa's hummingbird is common in the arid brushy deserts and gardens of the

Baja California Peninsula of Mexico.[3]

Behavior

Breeding

Male Costa's hummingbird

The male Costa's hummingbird's courtship display is a spirited series of swoops and arcing dives, using an angle to the sun to display its violet gorget to prospective mates. Each high-speed dive passes closely to the female, perched on a nearby branch, and is accented by a high-pitched vibration that is produced by tail feathers. Separately, the male will perch and produce a high-pitched, scratch-like song.[3]

The female constructs a small cup-shaped nest out of plant fibers, down, and at times spider silk, coated with lichen to hold it together.[12] The nest is situated on a yucca stalk or tree limb. The female lays just two eggs, which are white in color, which she will incubate for 15 to 18 days before the young hatch. The young leave the nest after 20 to 23 days.

Diet

As common with hummingbird species, Costa's hummingbird feeds on flower nectar and small insects. While feeding in flight, a Costa's hummingbird may hover.

  • Female hovering
    Female hovering
  • Male hovering
    Male hovering

Torpor

As with other hummingbird species, the Costa's hummingbird can slow its metabolism during cold nights when it enters a hibernation-like state known as torpor, with its heart rate and respiration slowing substantially.[3]

Conservation

The IUCN describes them as of least concern. The population is stable and there are no known threats. They are found in at least one protected area.[13]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688202A93187017.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Costa's hummingbird". All About Birds, Cornell University. 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. ^ Bourcier, Jules (1839). "Description de quelques espèces nouvelles d'oiseaux-mouches". Revue Zoologique (in French). 2: 294–295 [294].
  5. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  6. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 136–137.
  7. ^ Gould, John (1856). A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds. Vol. 4. London: self. Plates 134, 135, 136 and text (Part 11, Plates 5, 6 and 7). The 5 volumes were issued in 25 parts between 1849 and 1861. Title pages of all volumes bear the date of 1861.
  8. ^
    Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Hummingbirds"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  9. JSTOR 4080185
    .
  10. ^ Oiseaux.net. "Colibri de Costa - Calypte costae - Costa's Hummingbird". www.oiseaux.net. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  11. ^ "Costa's hummingbird". www.hummingbirds.net. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  12. JSTOR 1362578
    .
  13. ^ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Costa's Hummingbird.
Wikispecies has information related to Calypte costae.
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