Selasphorus platycercus is a migratory species with some resident populations in Mexico. Migratory populations breed in Colorado and Wyoming, while tropical resident populations breed in central Mexico. Their winter range expands from northern Guatemala to northern Mexico. Information on non-migratory populations is lacking (Calder and Calder, 1992).

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Breeding

Global Range: Breeding range includes the mountains from north-central Idaho, northern Utah, and northern Wyoming south to southeastern California, northeastern Sonora, central Mexico, and western Texas, as well as eastern Chiapas and Guatamala. Winter range extends from the highlands of northern Mexico to southern Mexico and Guatamala.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds are sexually dimorphic. Males have a metallic iridescent-rose colored gorget, green colored sides and back with some rufous color in the tail. The females are less colorful, lacking a complete gorget, and exhibiting buffy colored sides and a green back. Females are larger than males but body mass can vary during the course of a day based on nectar intake. Juvenile males look like adult females and are difficult to distinguish. (Kaufman, 2000).

Range mass: 3 to 4 g.

Range length: 83 to 97 mm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Length: 10 cm

Weight: 4 grams

• Terrestrial

The breeding habitat of broad-tailed hummingbirds includes willows around wet or dry stream beds, pinion, juniper, spruce and oak woodlands. They are known to nest as high as 3,230 m. In their winter range, which overlaps with the breeding range of resident populations in Mexico, broad-tailed hummingbirds use thorn and oak forests at lower elevations, and mixed oak-pine and cypress as well as fir forests at higher elevations. Because of the year-round availability of hummingbird feeders in some areas, some individuals have taken up residence in urban and suburban areas of southwestern United States (Calder and Calder, 1992).

Range elevation: 1,000 to 4,000 m.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest ; mountains

Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; riparian

Comments: Habitat includes open woodland, especially pinyon-juniper, pine-oak, and conifer-aspen associations; also brushy hillsides and montane scrub and thickets. In migration and winter this hummingbird also inhabits open situations in lowlands with flowering shrubs. It may move to higher elevations after breeding. Nests usually are on low horizontal branches of willows, alders, cottonwoods, pines, firs, spruces, or aspens, generally 3-13 feet (1-4 meters) above ground, sometimes in tall sycamores or pines at 20-30 feet (6-9 meters). Nests often are above water (Johnsgard 1983).

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Breeding populations in the United States and northern Mexico move south for winter. They have departed from the northern part of the range usually by the end of September and from the southern United States by the end of October. Northward migration through the southern United States occurs from late February to April. Migrants arrive in northern breeding areas around mid-May.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds feed on floral nectar and small insects. They usually visit flowers with red tubular corollas like the Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata). In the wintering grounds Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are not the dominant species and may have to forage on less preferred flowers. A study done with Ruby Throated, Rufous and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds suggested that there may be an element of observational learning involved in learning to forage on novel food resources. Insects are caught in air as well as by gleaning from foliage. There is a daily steady gain in body mass of individuals from foraging over the course of a day, with a total gain of 30 to 34% of their body mass just before flying to their roosting sites. This large foraging bout before roosting is probably needed to store energy for overnight thermoregulation.

Nectar used by hummingbirds contains large amounts of water that a hummingbird has to pass through its body either by absorbing it into the intestinal tract to be processed by the kidneys or just letting it pass through the tract without absorption. Water intoxication would be a major problem for most vertebrate species under these conditions but hummingbirds are able to excrete large amounts of dilute urine and handle large amounts of water being processed by the kidneys. They do however vary the amount of nectar taken in based on the sugar concentration of that nectar.

Nectar is taken from the following plants: Ipomopsis aggregata, Aquilegia elegantula, A. triternata, Penstemon spp., Castilleja spp., Salvia spp.,  Echinocereus grandiflorum, Mertensia oblongiforum, Delphinuim nelsoni, Ribes ciliatum, Cestrum terminale, Buddleia dara and Senecio angulifolius.

(Calder and Calder, 1992; Calder, 1994; McWhorter and Martinez del Rio, 1999; Altshuler and Nunn, 2001)

Animal Foods: insects

Plant Foods: nectar

Primary Diet: omnivore

Comments: Diet includes nectar (primary sources vary with location) and small insects and spiders obtained from flowers, foliage, or by hawking. See Johnsgard (1983) for review of nectar sources in different areas.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds are important pollinators of the plant species they forage on. (Calder and Calder, 1992).

Ecosystem Impact: pollinates

In Arizona, males defended breeding territory that averaged about 2040 sq m; in Colorado, males observed displaying close to one another in apparent lek (see Johnsgard 1983). May compete with rufus hummingbird for same food resources in some areas.

In their mountain breeding areas, where nectar may be limited and night rather cold, broad-tailed hummingbirds regularly exhibit greatly lowered body temperatures at night in response to inadequate energy intake or the need to conserve energy for flight the next day.

Life expectancy is 1.6 years based on the 50% mark on a survivorship curve in males and 1.9 years in females. The highest recorded age for wild females is 12 years and 8 years in males. (Calder and Calder, 1992)

Range lifespan

Status: wild: 12 (high) years.

Typical lifespan

Status: wild: 8 to 12 years.

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 1.75 years.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds have a promiscuous mating system in which male and female only interact for copulation. Males may mate with as many as six females in a season. (Calder and Calder, 1992)

Males court females by doing a series of diving displays. A lek display of three males has been observed, but it could have been a misinterpreted territorial stand. After the copulation, the female may stay and preen for a few minutes before flying away. Nests are built by the female alone. Nests take a hemisphere shape with a depression on top. Their inner diameter is 1.9 cm. Eggs are laid in clutches of two. (Calder and Calder, 1992)

Breeding season: May through August

Average eggs per season: 2.

Range time to hatching: 16 to 19 days.

Average fledging age: 25 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.

Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous

Average eggs per season: 2.

Female broad-tailed hummingbirds make the nest and raise the young on their own. Ten to twelve days after hatching, females start to roost away from the nest, where there is almost not enough space for the young to huddle together. Females feed young mostly small insects through their development, and then they abandon them to start their south-bound migration (Calder and Calder, 1992).

Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care

In Arizona, Utah, and Colorado egg laying occurs primarily in June-July. Clutch size is 2. Incubation, by the female, lasts 16-17 days. Young are tended by the female, fledge in 21-26 days (18 days also reported). Individual females occasionally attempt 2 broods in a single season, but one is the norm. Females may nest close together.

Increased use of feeders help to sustain populations in times of resource scarcity (Calder and Calder, 1992).

US Migratory Bird Act: protected

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5B - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Hummingbirds, especially in areas where feeders are present, can be popular attractions for tourists to want to visit. Broad-tailed hummingbirds can be incorporated into ecotourism in areas where they are prevalent.

Positive Impacts: ecotourism