In the southern tip of Baja we have only two common types of hummingbirds. Rarely we will find an Anna’s, or Black-chin, here but they are rare.
Our two native hummingbirds are the Xantus – Hylocharis xantusii – and the Costa’s – Calypte costae.
The Xantus is endemic to southern Baja and is often a candidate for some birder’s life list
The bird shown here is the female. The male is similar but has a bright green breast. Fairly common, but found only in southern Baja.
Close-up showing the distinctive eye stripe
The Costa’s Hummingbird is found in southern California, southern Nevada and Mexico south to Central America. The male has a gorget (chin feathers) that shine a bright purple when the light is right, otherwise the gorget appears black, as show here.
The female Costa’s lacks the bright purple gorget.
Leave a Reply