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Archilochus alexandri, the Black-chinned Hummingbird or Colibrí Barba Negra, is a tiny bird (~4 inches) that occupies much of the western United States and Mexico. Like all hummingbirds, the Black-chinned Hummingbird feeds entirely on the nectar of flowers, and on cold days will consume as much as 3 times its own body weight. Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, weighing about as much as 1 or 2 pennies, and are also the only birds that can fly backwards and even, occasionally, upside down! Their wings can beat up to 200 times per second, making the characteristic "humming" sound that gives them their name and allowing them to hover over flowers as they collect nectar.

The short video below is of a female Black-chinned Hummingbird feeding on flowers in a valley of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range of Coahuila, Mexico.
Video (26 seconds)

Images on TIDES:
Hummingbirds
Birds on TIDES

Related Links:
Black-chinned Hummingbird in All About Birds
Archilochus alexandri at Animal Diversity Web

Back to Birds

Video: Priscilla Coulter, SFASU Library