SOUTHEAST ARIZONA’S RARE HUMMERS OF SUMMER

By Jennie MacFarland 

Rivoli's Hummingbird, Rhett Herring

Summer brings many changes to Southeast Arizona. Temperatures soar, humidity rises, and the human population dips to a low point for the year. This increased humidity and iconic monsoon causes our Sky Island region to bloom with a “second spring” and creates a hummingbird paradise as they take advantage of increased nectar sources and insects. Hummingbirds can be found here all year, but there are some species that can only be found during the summer and in very specific places. The payoff for braving the high temperatures, here are some of our specialty hummers of summer and where you can find them.

Female and male Lucifer Hummingbirds, Greg Lavaty and Francis Morgan 

LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD
With a brilliant purple throat, curved bill and long, forked tail it’s no wonder this small hummingbird’s name means “light bearer” in reference to its dazzling beauty. The female is also quite lovely with a thin white eyebrow, and a peach wash on her flanks and belly. Preferring dry canyons with thorn scrub vegetation, ocotillo, and agave, the most reliable locations to find them in recent years have been the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary (Huachuca Mountains), Box Canyon (Santa Rita Mountains), and Guindani Canyon (Whetstone Mountains). 

Plain-capped Starthroat, Lois Manowitz

 

PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT

A relative newcomer to our hummingbird scene in Southeast Arizona, this rare hummingbird has been seen mostly at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon. This large hummingbird has pale under parts and a bronzy, olive colored back, and the male sports a modest throat patch of carmine red iridescence that can only be seen in the perfect light. They can be easily confused with female Rivoli’s Hummingbirds but their distinctive blaze of white on their lower back sets them apart. 

 

 Female and male White-eared Hummingbirds, Alan Schmierer and Lois Manowitz

 

WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD
These small hummingbirds favor lush canyons of our Sky Islands, and Miller Canyon of the Huachuca Mountains has been the most likely location for them the last few years. Both the male and female have a bold white stripe behind the eye and red bill with a black tip. The male also has an intense purple iridescence on his face and green on his lower throat. At first glance it is easy to confuse the female White-eared Hummingbird with a female Broad-billed, but the rarer hummingbird can be identified by her much broader and bolder white face stripe as well as her darker black stripe under her eye.

 

 

Berylline Hummingbird, Rhett Herring

BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD
This medium-sized hummingbird is found in the oak and pine-oak forests of Southeast Arizona, most recently being seen in Madera Canyon and even breeding in Cave Creek Canyon of the Chiricahua Mountains. Their emerald-green bodies are a beautiful contrast to their rusty, rufous wings, tail, and rump—rufous wing patches help distinguish them from Buff-bellied Hummingbirds and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds in Mexico.

Jennie MacFarland is the Director of Bird Conservation for Tucson Bird Alliance.