The Calliope Hummingbird
Size: With a range of 2.75 to 3.25 inches the Calliope is the smallest bird in North America with a correspondingly short and straight bill.
Identifying Characteristics: The male is much easier to identify than the female because of the streaked rosy gorget. Distinguishing the female from the female Broad-tailed Hummingbird is challenging. The female has a less dense streaked gorget, with pale buffy flanks, though not as buffy as the Broad-tailed. The bill is shorter and thinner. There is a white spot just behind the eye. The Calliope also has a shorter tail, so its wings when folded back are longer than the tail. That is not the case with the Broad-tailed whose tail is longer than the wings when folded back.
Habitat: Subalpine forests and meadows.
Range: Southwestern British Columbia, Western United States, and Mexico.
Seasons: Summers in the Northwestern US, Winters in Mexico; July and August best in Southern Arizona.
Where To Find: Portal, Ash Canyon, Ramsy Canyon, and Miller Canyon are the best places to look. You will need to check the Audubon's Rare Bird Alert to help locate.
Comments: The Calliope is not a common visitor to hummingbird feeders. They are more solitary than most of the other hummers. The male is particularly hard to find. They prefer flowers to feeders which makes them only an occasional visitor to feeders. And even though small, distinguishing between a hummingbird that is 3 1/4 inches versus 3 1/2 or 3 3/4 is very difficult. The females are particularly hard to distinguish from other females, especially Anna's, the Black-chinned, and Broad-tailed females. Anna's females have a small central patch. Black-chinned's bill is longer and there is little or buff on the flanks. The Broad-tailed looks identical at rest, although the tail projects well beyond the wing tips. The Broad-tailed when flying has an obvious rufous color on the outer tail feathers.
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