Blue-throated Mountain-gem

The Blue-throated Mountain-gem, formerly called the Blue-throated Hummingbird, is among the largest and most striking hummingbirds found in the United States. Both sexes share a gray-green body, bold white stripes above and below the eye, and a broad, dark tail with prominent white corners that flash conspicuously in flight. Adult males have an iridescent blue throat patch that can look dark or brilliantly colored depending on the angle of light, while females have a paler, less iridescent throat.

Its large size, loud voice, and preference for shaded, water-loving forest set it apart from the smaller, more sun-loving hummingbirds that share its range.

Key Field Marks

• Large size with a gray-green body and long, straight black bill
• Bold white stripe above the eye and another below, framing the face
• Broad tail with large white corner patches, easily seen in flight or when the tail is fanned
• Male: iridescent blue throat patch; female: paler, less colorful throat

Similar Species

• Rivoli's Hummingbird is similarly large but lacks the bold white facial stripes and white-cornered tail.
• Broad-billed Hummingbird is much smaller with a red-based bill, unlike the all-dark bill of the Blue-throated Mountain-gem.

Habitat

This species favors shaded, humid canyons with running water, often nesting under rock overhangs, bridges, or building eaves near streams within forested mountains.

Range

In the United States it occurs in the mountains of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and the Chisos Mountains of west Texas, with its range extending south through the highlands of Mexico.

Migration

Most U.S. populations are present from spring through fall and withdraw into Mexico for the winter, though it is resident year-round farther south.

Behavior

Blue-throated Mountain-gems are vocal and assertive, often heard before they are seen as they defend favored nectar sources from other hummingbirds.

Voice

The species gives a loud, distinctive, high-pitched "seek" call, repeated frequently and far-carrying through canyon habitat.

Feeding

They feed on nectar from a variety of canyon wildflowers and are frequent visitors to hummingbird feeders, supplementing their diet with small insects.

Nesting

Females build an unusually large, deep nest of moss and plant fibers bound with spider silk, often attached to a rock face, root mass, or man-made structure sheltered from rain, and may reuse or build atop the same nest site in later years.