236 
HUMMINGBIRDS 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones from 
British Columbia south to Lower California and from the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains and Texas to the Pacific ; winters in Mexico. 
Nest. — In trees or bushes 4 to 8 feet from the ground, made of white 
or sponge-colored plant down, covered with spider web, sometimes with 
addition of leaves or flowers. Eggs: 2 or 3, white. 
Food. — Largely minute insects. 
In southern California the black-chinned hummer may often be 
seen sunning himself on an oak twig, his dull black throat relieved 
by a violet band that glints green and blue as he turns his head. 
Ordinarily he seems the quietest, most unemotional of humming¬ 
birds, but if fortunate you may come on him when performing his 
aerial love-dance. One that I once watched took his stand below 
his lady’s perch and fixing his eyes upon her swung shuttling from 
side to side in an arc, with the sound and regularity of a machine. 
He never turned around or took his eyes from hers, but at the end 
of the arc—less than a yard in length — always threw himself back 
by a quick spread of his tail. She sat as if hypnotized, her long bill 
turning as he turned, her eyes following every motion with droll 
absorption. In spite of her flattering attention, however, when his 
dance was over and he looked up for approval, she apparently made 
some slighting remark, for he whizzed off in a hurry and was seen 
no more. 
In Los Angeles County, California, Mr. Grinnell says black-chins 
are summer residents from the lowlands to the tops of the moun¬ 
tains, but most abundant in the foothills, where they breed in can¬ 
yons some years by the thousands. Their numbers vary with the 
rainfall, as the abundant flowering plants that follow a wet winter 
afford them ample food. At Phoenix, Arizona, Mr. Bailey found 
that one of their favorite feeding flowers was the desert Fouquena. 
GENUS CALYPTE. 
General 
Characters. Adult males with tail emarginate or 
slightly forked, outside feathers abruptly narrower 
than the rest. Adult females with outer tail feath¬ 
ers decidedly narrower than the rest, but with broad 
rounded end. 
Fig. 308. 
KEY TO ADULTS. 
Fig. 309. 
1. Males with gorget and top of head purplish red; females with under 
parts brownish gray.anna, p. 237. 
1 . Males with gorget and top of head metallic violet; females with under 
parts white. cost®, p. 236. 
430. Calypte costae ( Bourc.). Costa Hummingbird. 
Adult male.— Head, gorget , and long flaring ruff brilliantly burnished 
