Birds · Apodiformes · Trochilidae

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Selasphorus platycercus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The broad-tailed hummingbird — known in Spanish as zafiro de cola ancha or colibrí colirrufo de las Rocosas — breeds at high altitude in the mountains of western North America, where it faces nights below freezing even in summer. It survives by entering torpor every night: it drops its body temperature by tens of degrees and cuts its metabolism to a fraction, waking with the sun. It is one of the most studied birds in the physiology of energy saving.

Weight

3 g – 5 g

Size

10 cm – 11 cm

Lifespan

12 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestMountainGrasslandOmnivore Nectarivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Temperate forest Mountain Grassland

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Fun facts

The male produces a continuous metallic trill with his wing feathers on every beat, a high buzz audible at a distance that gives him away before he is seen.
It enters torpor every night of the breeding season: it drops its body temperature from 40 degrees to around 10 and cuts its metabolism to a twentieth, a saving without which it would not survive the high mountain nights.
It is one of the birds with the greatest documented longevity relative to its metabolism: there are ringed females that have passed twelve years of age while weighing three grams.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Meadows and open montane woodland of the Rockies and the Mexican sierras, up to 3,500 metres
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 16 days
Litter / clutch size: 2

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selasphorus_platycercus