Calliope Hummingbird

The Calliope Hummingbird holds the title of smallest bird species that breeds in the United States and Canada, weighing barely more than a coin. Adult males have a green back and crown, whitish underparts, and a striking gorget made of magenta-pink streaks radiating over a white throat, rather than a solid patch of color. Females and immatures lack the colorful throat, instead showing a green back, a peachy or buffy wash on the flanks, and fine dark spotting on the throat.

Despite its diminutive size, the Calliope Hummingbird makes an impressive long-distance migration each year between the mountains of the American West and central Mexico.

Key Field Marks

• Very small size, noticeably smaller and shorter-tailed than other western hummingbirds
• Male: distinctive streaked magenta rays on a whitish throat, rather than a solid gorget
• Female: green back, peachy flanks, spotted throat
• Short tail that does not extend past the wingtips at rest, giving a stubby-bodied look

Similar Species

• Broad-tailed Hummingbird males have a solid rose-magenta gorget, not streaked, and are noticeably larger.
• Rufous and Allen's Hummingbird males show orange, not magenta, throats.
• Female Calliopes are best told from other small female hummingbirds by their tiny size and short tail.

Habitat

Calliope Hummingbirds breed in mountain meadows, willow and alder thickets along streams, and open montane forest, typically at moderate to high elevations.

Range

They breed in the mountains of the western United States and southwestern Canada, from British Columbia and Alberta south through the Rockies, Cascades, and Sierra Nevada.

Migration

This species undertakes a long migration relative to its tiny size, wintering primarily in the pine-oak highlands of central Mexico, often following a different route in spring than in fall to track blooming flowers.

Behavior

Males defend flowering territories and perform steep, U-shaped display dives, punctuated by a buzzy popping sound produced by the tail feathers at the bottom of the dive.

Voice

Calls include soft, high chip notes; the species does not have a musical song.

Feeding

They feed on nectar from a variety of wildflowers, including paintbrush and penstemon, and take small insects in flight to meet their high metabolic demands.

Nesting

Females build a tiny, well-camouflaged cup nest, often on a downward-sloping conifer branch, sometimes reusing the same site across multiple years.