Blue-throated Mountaingem

Overview

The blue-throated mountaingem (Lampornis clemenciae) is the largest hummingbird species found in the United States. It resides across a wide range in the southern United States and throughout Mexico, where it is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Length of 11.2 to 12.8 cm, with males averaging 8.4 g and females 6.8 g.
• Both sexes possess a medium-length black bill and feature a conspicuous white stripe behind the eye, alongside a narrower stripe extending from the bill under a blackish cheek patch.
• Adult males display an iridescent cobalt to cerulean blue gorget with a narrow buffy gray margin, while females lack the gorget.
• Males produce a simple "peep song" resembling a squeaky wheel and a complex "whisper song" lasting up to eight seconds.

Habitat

The species inhabits a variety of moist forest landscapes, including riparian forests, pine-oak forests, and mixed coniferous areas. In the United States and northern Mexico, it is often found in canyons, while in central and southern Mexico it favours coniferous forests. It typically ranges from 1,300 m to 3,900 m in elevation depending on the location.

Diet

This bird forages for nectar at a wide variety of flowering plants by hovering in flight, and it frequently visits sugar-water feeders. During the breeding season and winter, it supplements its diet with small arthropods taken by hawking, sustained flight, or gleaning from bark and foliage. In winter, it also consumes sap from wells created by the Red-naped sapsucker.

Did you know?

The male song is distinctive among birds because it uses sharp, atonal, forceful trills and clicks with an unusually large vocal range of 1.8 to 30 kHz. The species also emits ultrasonic vibrations that are not used for communication but may serve to flush out and disorient insect prey.