The Broad-billed Hummingbird is one of the many hummingbird species you will find in Madera Canyon, a hot spot for hummer watching, in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.
A colorful hummingbird species, the Broad-billed Hummingbird is medium in size and bright metallic green with a bright blue throat. The beak is bright red with a black tip. The forked tail is black with white underneath. The legs and feet are also black.
The Broad-billed Hummingbird eats insects and flower nectar. They hover with rapid wings beating away, buzzing from plant to plant. All of this energy spent requires a lot of nectar. They can eat nearly twice their weight in nectar each day.
This hummer conserves energy at night by lowering their body temperature and thereby slowing their metabolism until they can start feeding again in the morning.
Reference: The Nature of Madera Canyon by Douglas W. Moore, Friends of Madera, 1999; whatbird.com
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