Black-chinned Hummingbird

About the Black-chinned Hummingbird

The Black-chinned Hummingbird is the everyday hummingbird of central and west Texas - the one guarding Hill Country feeders all summer. The male looks plain dark-headed until he turns just right and the thin band below the black chin ignites into iridescent violet, one of the subtlest gorgets of any North American hummingbird. Females and young birds are green above and grayish below, nearly identical to female Ruby-throateds.

Like all hummingbirds it burns fuel at an astonishing rate, feeding on nectar every few minutes and taking tiny insects and spiders for protein, often snatched in midair or plucked from webs. Males perform a deep pendulum display dive for females, producing a distinctive whirring with their wings at the bottom of each swing.

The female builds a walnut-sized cup of plant down and spider silk that stretches as the two chicks grow - the silk is the secret, letting the nest expand without cracking. Nests are often placed over water or on low, drooping branches, and the same site may be reused and built up year after year.

Black-chinned Hummingbirds arrive in Texas in March and mostly depart by October, wintering in west Mexico. Where the Hill Country meets the Balcones Escarpment they overlap with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and separating their look-alike females at a feeder is one of the region's little identification sports.