Archilochus alexandri
The hummingbird is a flying jewel of our suburban backyards. Black-chinned hummingbirds spend the spring and summer throughout Utah pollinating tube- and bell-shaped flowers.
The male black-chinned gets its name from the black chin that lights up to a dazzling purple when it flashes its gorget. The gorget is like a neon sign that wards off encroaching males and welcomes females into breeding territory.
Black-chins, like other hummingbirds, migrate to the tropics in the fall, returning in the spring. They have one of the longest migrations when you measure the distance that they must travel given their tiny 3.75-inch body length. They make the journey across the Gulf of Mexico in one flight at night.
Hummingbirds are easily attracted to backyard nectar feeders. Their tongues are longer than the bills. They can lap up nectar at 16 licks per second, give or take a lick. Their metabolism is incredible - a human would need to consume about 20,000 calories a day to keep even with a hummingbird.
Make nectar at a 4:1 ratio of water to sugar. Do not use red food dye, honey or artificial sweeteners.
We banded a black-chinned hummingbird in my Farmington backyard with band number C88026 recently. He weighed 2.94 grams (a penny weighs 2.5 grams). The band number, sex, weight and other measurements were sent to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service central banding lab in Pautauxent, Md. Subsequent observations of this bird and other banded birds add to our knowledge of migration routes and areas where the birds winter, breed and travel.
Hummingbirds are the smallest of all North American birds.
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* BILL FENIMORE is owner of the Layton Wild Bird Center, www.wildbird. com/layton. Join the Layton Wild Bird Center for a free bird walk to the Ogden Nature Center Saturday at 8 a.m. A birding 101 presentation will be given before the walk. Call 801-525-8400 for more information.
