Broad-billed Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris)
Name Origin:
The genus name Cynanthus comes from the Greek kynos (“dog”) and anthos (“flower”), an early reference to the bird’s bold, restless behavior among flowers. The species name latirostris combines the Latin latus (“broad”) and rostrum (“bill”), describing its characteristically wide-based bill.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 8.5–10 cm (3.3–3.9 in)
⚖️ Weight: 3–4 g (0.10–0.14 oz)
🌎 Range: Southwestern United States and Mexico
🧭 Elevation: 300–2,500 m (980–8,200 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small insects
🏡 Habitat: Arid scrub, riparian corridors, oak woodland, and gardens
🧬 Clade: Trochilini "Emeralds" (low- to mid-elevation hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN)
Subspecies & Distribution
1. Cynanthus latirostris magicus
Distribution: Breeds from southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south along the Sierra Madre Occidental to Colima and Aguascalientes. Northernmost breeders migrate south for the winter. Occasional vagrants reach southern California and other parts of the western U.S.
2. Cynanthus latirostris latirostris
Distribution: Resident in east-central Mexico, from Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas south through northern Veracruz, Morelos, and the Valley of Mexico.
3. Cynanthus latirostris propinquus
Distribution: Resident in central Mexico, from Guanajuato through Michoacán to northern Guerrero.
Species Overview
The Broad-billed Hummingbird is one of the most brilliantly colored hummingbirds in North America. Males are unmistakable with their glowing blue throat and scarlet bill, often flashing through desert canyons and riparian forests. It is the most frequently seen hummingbird in many areas of southern Arizona and Mexico’s Pacific slopes, where it is a year-round resident or seasonal breeder.
Male Description:
The male displays iridescent emerald-green upperparts, a shimmering sapphire-blue throat and chest, and grayish underparts with green flanks. The bill is bright red with a black tip, broad-based, and slightly decurved. The tail is dark blue-green and slightly forked. When displaying, males hover in front of females, flashing their blue throats in the sun.
Female Description:
The female is mostly green above and grayish below, with a pale eye line and a red-based black-tipped bill. The tail is bluish-green with white tips. She lacks the male’s iridescent blue throat but is equally agile and persistent at feeding sites.
Habitat & Behavior:
This species favors arid and semi-arid landscapes with access to flowering vegetation and water, such as riparian woodlands, canyons, and scrubby hillsides. It feeds on nectar from Agave, Salvia, Penstemon, and Heliotropium, and supplements its diet with small insects captured in flight. Males are highly territorial and vocal, producing rapid chit and buzz notes during defense or courtship. Its flight is fast and direct, with frequent tail flicks while feeding.
Conservation Note:
The Broad-billed Hummingbird is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and remains common across much of its range. It readily adapts to gardens and disturbed habitats, often visiting feeders in both rural and urban settings. However, habitat degradation in riparian and oak woodland corridors can affect breeding success locally. Maintaining native flowering vegetation and water sources supports healthy populations of this radiant Trochilini hummingbird.
Below is the Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris magicus)
Photographed at Ramsey Canyon Inn, Cochise County, Arizona, United States
This individual belongs to the subspecies magicus, which occurs in the “Sky Island” ranges of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. It inhabits riparian canyons, desert scrub, and pine-oak foothills, most common between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.
Below is the Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris latirostris)
Photographed at Camino San Juan – Coajomulco, Huitzilac, Morelos, Mexico
This individual belongs to the nominate subspecies latirostris, which occurs throughout central and southern Mexico from Jalisco and Morelos to Oaxaca and Guerrero. It inhabits montane woodland, scrub, and gardens between 1,000 and 2,500 meters.
This form is slightly larger and more vibrant than the northern magicus. Males have an intense sapphire-blue throat and chest, bright green upperparts, and a vivid red bill with a black tip. Females are paler but share the same slender build and active flight style.
