Costa's hummingbird ('' Calypte costae'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of hummingbird in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Trochilidae. It breeds in the arid, semi-arid and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

climate zones of the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, mainly in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and the Baja California Peninsula. Like many hummingbirds in the region, it can be found on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast, often visiting backyard hummingbird feeders and gardens with

flowering plants Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

, as well as in more wild

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

, such as the

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

and oak forests,

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

, and high

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

habitats found further inland. When not in the US, the species often winters in western Mexico.

Taxonomy

Costa's hummingbird was formally described by the French ornithologist Jules Bourcier in 1839, and given the binomial name ''Ornismya costae''; Bourcier chose the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

to honour French nobleman (and fellow ornithologist) Louis Marie Pantaleon Costa, Marquis de Beauregard (1806–1864). The type locality is

Magdalena Bay Magdalena Bay () is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magda ...

, on the

west coast, of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Costa's hummingbird is presently placed in the genus ''Calypte'', introduced in 1856 by

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

. The species is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, with no

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

being currently recognised. Hybrids of ''C. costae'' and Anna's (''C. anna''), black-chinned (''Archilochus alexandri''), and broad-tailed hummingbirds (''Selasphorus platycercus'') are all known to have occurred.

Description

This species is small, as a mature adult grows to only in length, with a wingspan of 11 cm, and an average weight of 3.05 g for males and 3.22 g for females. The male has a mainly green back and flanks, a small black tail and wings, and patches of white below their gorgeted throat and tail. Its most distinguishing feature is its vibrant purple cap and throat with the throat feathers flaring out and back behind its head. The female is not as distinct as the male, having grayish-green above with a white underbelly.

Distribution and habitat

Costa's hummingbird is common in the arid brushy deserts and gardens of the

and the Baja California Peninsula of

Behavior

Breeding

The male Costa's hummingbird's courtship display is a spirited series of swoops and arcing dives, using an angle to the sun to display its violet extended gorget to prospective mates. The male makes a high-speed dive pass or hover close to the female, perched on a nearby branch, and is accented by a high-pitched vibration that is produced by tail feathers. Separately, the male will perch and produce a high-pitched, scratch-like song. The female constructs a small cup-shaped nest out of plant fibers, down, and at times spider silk, coated with

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

to hold it together. The nest is situated on a yucca stalk or tree limb. The female lays just two eggs, which are white in color, which she will incubate for 15 to 18 days before the young hatch. The young leave the nest after 20 to 23 days.

Diet

As common with hummingbird species, Costa's hummingbird feeds on flower

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

and small insects. While feeding in flight, a Costa's hummingbird may hover. Kolibri-Sonora-Desert-USA.jpg, Female hovering Calypte costae-male hovering nectaring.jpg, Male hovering

Torpor

As with other hummingbird species, the Costa's hummingbird can slow its

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

during cold nights when it enters a hibernation-like state known as

torpor Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the ti ...

, with its heart rate and respiration slowing substantially.

Conservation

The IUCN describes them as of least concern. The population is stable and there are no known threats. They are found in at least one protected area.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q579713 Costa's hummingbird Birds of Mexico Costa's hummingbird Endemic birds of Southwestern North America Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Fauna of the Colorado Desert Fauna of the Lower Colorado River Valley Fauna of the Mojave Desert Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Native birds of the Southwestern United States Taxa named by Jules Bourcier