Costa's Hummingbird             

(Calypte Costae)

Costa's Hummingbird is a compact and short-tailed, hummingbird species with a hunched posture and a slightly drooping bill.

BILL: straight black bill. 

SIZE: measures up to 3.5 inches in length, a wingspan of approximately 4.3 inches.         

WEIGHT: between 2 - 3 grams, females are larger than males.   

COLOR: green, black, violet, white, buff, iridescent. 

DESERTS: semi-deserts, open meadows, and gardens of South Western USA and Mexico.

NEST: small cup shape nest approximately 3.3 - 6.6 feet above the ground, made of strips of bark, small leaves, bits of lichen, and downy parts from flowers in the sunflower family, held with spiderweb, takes about 4–5 days complete.

EGGS: 2-3 eggs, 0.4-0.6 inches in length, white in color.

INCUBATION: 15-18 days.

NESTLING PHASE: 20-30 days.

NECTAR from chuparosa and ocotillo, white and black sage, tree tobacco, heart-leaved penstemon, and bush monkeyflower.

INSECTS tiny insects that they catch while in the air or glean from plants.

HOVERING above flowers to take nectar and catch small flying insects in midair, they are not as aggressive and are subordinate to larger hummingbirds.

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and British Columbia. Winters in SE California, SW Arizona, NW Sonora, and Baja. They don't migrate very long distances and can be among the first migrant birds to arrive in the spring.