Bumblebee Hummingbird

The bumblebee hummingbird is 5.9 to 7.5 cm (2.3 to 3.0 in) long and weighs 2 to 2.7 g (0.071 to 0.095 oz); it is one of the smallest hummingbirds. Both sexes of both subspecies have a short, straight, blackish bill and a small white spot behind the eye. Males of the nominate subspecies have metallic bronze green to golden bronze upperparts. Their gorget is metallic magenta purple to bluish purple at its edges, and its longer hindward feathers flare out and back. The flanks are light reddish cinnamon with a bronze wash. The rest of the underparts are dull white to grayish white. The central pair of tail feathers are bronzy green with some reddish cinnamon at the base. The next pair are reddish cinnamon on their base half and black on the outer half, often with a bronzy green band between the colors. The rest of the tail feathers are reddish cinnamon at their base and black in the middle, often with a bronzy green band between the colors, and have a wide white tip. The nominate female also has metallic bronze green to golden green upperparts. The chin and throat are white with many metallic bronze spots. The flanks have more reddish cinnamon than the male's and the rest of the underparts are dull white to grayish white with a reddish cinnamon tinge on the undertail coverts. …

The bumblebee hummingbird is found in both of Mexico's major mountain ranges. The nominate subspecies is found in northeast, central, and southern Mexico from Tamaulipas to Guerrero and Oaxaca. S. h. margarethae is found in northwestern and western Mexico from Sinaloa and Chihuahua to Jalisco. There is one record from the Huachuca Mountains of southeastern Arizona, U.S.A. The species inhabits several montane landscapes including the interiors, edges, and clearings of semi-humid to humid pine-oak and evergreen forest, cloudforest, and humid scrublands. In elevation it ranges between 1,500 and 3,000 m (4,900 and 9,800 ft).

The bumblebee hummingbird forages for nectar at a wide variety of flowering plants. It feeds at all levels of the vegetation but favors the low to middle heights. At flowers it typically hovers in a horizontal posture with the tail cocked up. It is dominated by larger hummingbirds, but its small size allows it to sometimes feed in their territories without confrontation. In addition to nectar, the species feeds on small arthropods.