Forest and Rangeland Birds of the United States

Natural History and Habitat Use

Violet-crowned Hummingbird -- Amazilla violiceps


RANGE: Breeds in southern Arizona in the Huachuca and Chiricahua mountains, and in southwestern New Mexico in Guadalupe Canyon south to central Mexico. Casual in southern California. With a few exceptions, withdraws into Mexico in winter.

STATUS: Rare and local; first discovered breeding in the United States in 1959.

HABITAT: Prefers riparian sycamore groves in desert mountain canyons. In the United States, generally associated with streamside plant life in the deserts and foothills of mountains.

NEST: Builds a nest that is saddled to a horizontal limb in sycamores, 25 to 40 feet above the ground.

FOOD: Probably consumes nectar and insects but no definitive reports have been published.

REFERENCES: Johnsgard 1983b, Phillips et al. 1964, Terres 1980, Terrill in Farrand 1983b, Zimmerman and Levy 1960.


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