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Black-chinned Hummingbird(Archilochus alexandri)
Archilochus:
Greek derivation meaning "chief brigand" (from archos for "chief",
lochos for "ambush, or a company of men") perhaps because, as a
thief takes something, it takes pollen from
flowers.
alexandri: for a Dr. Alexandre, a
medical doctor in Mexico during the 1840s who sent bird specimens to
France. No more seems to be known of this
man.
Black-chinned: describing the color of the male's
gorget
Hummingbird: referring to the
buzzing/humming-like sound the birds make when flying
Other names:
Alexander Hummingbird, Sponge Hummer; Spanish – terciopelo barbanegro, chupaflor barbinegro
Systematics:
Class: Aves; Order: Apodiformes; family: Trochilidae.
Key Identification Characters:
Adult male with black chin bordered below by iridescent purple gorget; white collar below gorget; female with green upper parts, whitish throat; rounded tail with white-tipped feathers (female not distinguishable in field from female Ruby-throated Hummingbird which is occasionally seen in areas occupied by Black-chinned Hummingbirds). Length, 3.75"; wingspan, 4.75".
Distribution:
Western North America southward to western Mexico.
El
Paso Region: common summer nester, occasionally seen through
winter.
Food:
Flower nectar and insects.
Breeding:
Number of eggs/clutch: 2; egg: white; 0.50" x 0.35"; nesting: generally within 10' of ground on fork of tree limb; nest made of plant fibers and spider webs.
Contributor: Scott M. Cutler, Curator of Collections and Exhibits; Curator of Ornithology