Species: Archilochus alexandri
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
This is a small, slender hummingbird with a straight, black bill. Adult males have a dull metallic bronze-green back and a black chin and upper throat with a metallic violet iridescence on the lower throat. The males central pair of tail feathers are green whereas the others are black (often with a purplish sheen). Adult females have a dull metallic bronze-green back, and their chin, upper throat, and sides of throat are creamy and often streaked or spotted with dusky. Females breast and most of belly are dull white. Females tail is greenish or blackish, with the 3 outer pairs of feathers broadly tipped with white. Young birds resemble adult females but have buffy emarginations at the tips of the head and body feathers (these disappear through wear). Length is about 3.75 inches (7.5-9 cm).
Classification
Aves
Apodiformes
Trochilidae
Archilochus
NatureServe
Classification
Ecology and Life History
This is a small, slender hummingbird with a straight, black bill. Adult males have a dull metallic bronze-green back and a black chin and upper throat with a metallic violet iridescence on the lower throat. The males central pair of tail feathers are green whereas the others are black (often with a purplish sheen). Adult females have a dull metallic bronze-green back, and their chin, upper throat, and sides of throat are creamy and often streaked or spotted with dusky. Females breast and most of belly are dull white. Females tail is greenish or blackish, with the 3 outer pairs of feathers broadly tipped with white. Young birds resemble adult females but have buffy emarginations at the tips of the head and body feathers (these disappear through wear). Length is about 3.75 inches (7.5-9 cm).