Broad-tailed Hummingbird
The broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) is a medium-sized hummingbird species found in highland regions from western United States and Western Canada to Mexico and Guatemala. == Description == Medium in size, the broad-tailed hummingbird is 4 inches (10 cm) in length and possesses an overall wingspan of 5.25 inches (13.3 cm). Weighing around 3.6 grams (0.13 oz), the female tends to be slightly larger than the male. Adults of both sexes show an iridescent green back, white eye ring and a rounded black tail projecting beyond their wing tips, from which their name was inspired. This species shows sexual dimorphism, which means that male and female have different characteristics. The male possesses a characteristic bright rose-red gorget. An identification characteristic is the white eye ring. The female can be distinguished from the male by her paler coloration, cinnamon flanks, and spotted cheeks absent in the male. === Vocalizations === The broad-tailed hummingbird produces several different sound patterns. This bird's call sounds like a sharp "cheet", which is repeated "cheet cheet cheet cheet...". Hummingbird wing beats have also been found to be a communication signal. These birds produce two different types of sound using their wing beat. The first one is…
Big Bend National Park
Brewster County, United States
+121 birds+29 mammals
Where the Rio Grande carves a serpentine boundary between Texas and Mexico, the Chisos Mountains rise abruptly from desert scrubland […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSaguaro National Park – Tucson Mountain District
Pima County, United States
+134 birds+26 mammals
Granite peaks rise abruptly from the Sonoran Desert floor, their bajadas cloaked in a forest of colossal saguaro cacti that […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSaguaro National Park – Rincon Mountain District
Pima County, United States
+131 birds+28 mammals
Dawn breaks over slopes where towering saguaro cacti puncture the Sonoran Desert sky like sentinels guarding an ancient realm. This […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKZion National Park
Washington County, United States
+123 birds+29 mammals
Where russet cliffs rise nearly a thousand metres above the Virgin River, sculpted by millennia of water and wind, an […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGreat Sand Dunes National Park
Saguache County, United States
+91 birds
Where the Rocky Mountain front meets the San Luis Valley, towering walls of sand rise improbably from the Colorado high […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCapitol Reef National Park
Garfield County, United States
+76 birds+25 mammals
Where the Waterpocket Fold rises like a ancient spine across Utah’s high desert, sculpted sandstone cliffs blaze in shades of […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGrand Teton National Park
Teton County, United States
+123 birds+30 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the Wyoming sky, a landscape of raw geological drama unfolds across 2,550 square kilometers of pristine […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBlack Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Montrose County, United States
+103 birds+23 mammals
Where granite walls plunge nearly 2,000 feet to meet the Gunnison River’s relentless current, some of North America’s steepest and […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRocky Mountain National Park
Larimer County, United States
+121 birds+31 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the Colorado sky above 12,000 feet, alpine tundra sprawls across windswept plateaus alongside dense subalpine forests […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTutuaca
Tosanachi, Mexico
+122 birds+22 mammals
Where copper canyons plunge deeper than the Grand Canyon itself, Mexico’s remote Sierra Madre Occidental unfolds in dramatic vertical relief. […]
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