Xantus's Hummingbird

About the Xantus's Hummingbird

Xantus's hummingbird (Basilinna xantusii), previously known as the black-fronted hummingbird, is a species in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to the Baja California Peninsula. Xantus's hummingbird was early placed in genus Basilinna, which predated its discovery, then moved to genus Hylocharis, and then in the early 2000s moved back to Basilinna. It shares that genus only with the white-eared hummingbird (B. leucotis). It is monotypic.

It is named for John Xantus de Vesey (Xántus János), a Hungarian zoologist who collected the first specimen. Xantus's hummingbird is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long. Males weigh an average of 3.5 g (0.12 oz) and females 3.4 g (0.12 oz). Their bills are straight and about 1.7 cm (0.67 in) long; males' are red with a black tip. Females' maxilla is black with a pinkish base and their mandible pinkish red with a black tip. Males have a golden green to emerald green crown, nape, and upperparts with rufous edging on the uppertail coverts. Their forehead and chin are black, their face mostly black with a wide white stripe behind the eye, and their throat iridescent emerald... Wikipedia →