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Costa's Hummingbird
Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.
Costa's Hummingbird
Calypte costae
Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It breeds in the arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean climate zones of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, mainly in Southern California and the Baja California Peninsula. Like many hummingbirds in the region, it can be found on the Pacific coast, often visiting backyard hummingbird feeders and gardens with flowering plants, as well as in more wild ecosystems, such as the conifer and oak forests, chaparral, and high desert habitats found further inland. When not in the US, the species often winters in western Mexico.
From the article Costa's hummingbird on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
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 (4.3 in), and an average weight of 3.05 g (0.108 oz) for males and 3.22 g (0.114 oz) for females. The male has a mainly green back and flanks, a small black tail and wings, and patches of white below their 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. The female is not as distinct as the male, having grayish-green above with a white underbelly.
Range & habitat
Costa's hummingbird is common in the arid brushy deserts and gardens of the Southwestern United States and the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico.
Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”
What it does
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.
Wikipedia: “Diet”
Listen
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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Every page naming Calypte costae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 6316.