Thursday Birdblogging

This is the black-chinned hummingbird, a tiny bird that lives in W.TX in the Davis Mountains, where I saw it, and in areas of the West U.S. The female is plain, no black chin. The Mt. Davis State Park has a little area devoted to bird watching, with a little building that has a view of a birding area full of fountains and feeders. I saw a lot of birds and had the great opportunity to talk with some volunteers who are familiar with the areas and the birds, and the other unique features of the area.

Cool Facts

* In cold weather, a Black-chinned Hummingbird may ingest three times its body weight in nectar in one day.

* The Black-chinned Hummingbird's nest can expand as nestlings grow. The spider and insect silk holding it together stretches and allows the nest to grow along with the growing chicks.

* The male and female Black-chinned Hummingbird may use different habitats during the nesting season, with the male in somewhat drier areas. In a study in Arizona and New Mexico, nesting females spent most of their time in canyon bottoms but often relied on nectar sources on nearby hillsides. Males occupied and defended territories on the hillsides but rarely ventured into the canyon bottoms.

* The eggs of a Black-chinned Hummingbird average about 13 mm (0.5 in) long and 8 mm (0.3 in) across, about the same size as a whole coffee bean.