Costa's Hummingbird

About the Costa's Hummingbird

Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It breeds in the arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean climate zones of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, mainly in Southern California and the Baja California Peninsula. Like many hummingbirds in the region, it can be found on the Pacific coast, often visiting backyard hummingbird feeders and gardens with flowering plants, as well as in more wild ecosystems, such as the conifer and oak forests, chaparral, and high desert habitats found further inland. When not in the US, the species often winters in western Mexico.

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 to honour French nobleman (and fellow ornithologist) Louis Marie Pantaleon Costa, Marquis de Beauregard (1806–1864). The type locality is Magdalena Bay, on the Pacific 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. The species is monotypic, with no subspecies being currently... Wikipedia →