Broad-billed Hummingbird

About the Broad-billed Hummingbird

A dazzling hummingbird of the Southwest, the male Broad-billed Hummingbird is deep, glittering green with a glowing sapphire-blue throat and a bright red bill tipped in black - a jewel-box combination unlike any other. The female is plainer green above and gray below, with a pale line behind the eye and a hint of that red in the bill.

Broad-bills feed at desert and canyon flowers and come readily to feeders, the male flashing his colors in buzzy display flights over a favored patch.

In Texas the Broad-billed Hummingbird is a rare and prized visitor, turning up mainly in the Trans-Pecos and West Texas, where each report draws birders hoping for a look at that red bill and blue throat.

A note from behind the lens: a cooperative bird at a feeder or a blooming shrub is your best chance. Position for light to catch the gorget, use a fast shutter for the wings, and frame against a clean, distant background so those colors carry.