The black chin hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) is a small hummingbird species found primarily in the southwestern United States and Mexico. This brightly colored bird gets its name from the black patch found on the chin and throat of adult males. The black chin hummingbird has a wide range stretching from southern Oregon down through California and into Baja California and Mexico. Within this range, the species occupies a variety of habitats including coastal areas, deserts, mountains, and urban environments. Understanding the extent of the black chin hummingbird’s range provides insights into its adaptability as a species.
Geographic Range in the United States
In the United States, the black chin hummingbird breeds along the Pacific Coast from southern Oregon to southern California. Its breeding range extends east into Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. Some key details on the species’ U.S. range include:
– Oregon: Breeds along the southwestern coast north to Tillamook County. Also breeds inland in the Rogue River Valley.
– California: Found along the entire length of the state in coastal, desert, and mountain habitats. Most abundant in the south.
– Nevada: Occurs in western and southern regions including the Mojave Desert and along the Colorado River.
– Arizona: Found throughout the state in appropriate habitat. Most abundant in the southwest.
– New Mexico: Nests in the southwestern and southcentral regions including the Gila River valley.
– Utah: Breeds in the southwestern corner of the state.
– Texas: Rare migrant and winter resident in the Trans-Pecos region of western Texas.
The black chin’s range extends farthest east in Texas where it is primarily a rare winter visitor. It does not breed in Texas. The species is absent from the central plains and all states east of Texas.
Range in Mexico
The black chin hummingbird’s breeding range extends south along the Pacific coast of Mexico from southern California and Arizona to central Sinaloa. It is found in the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Details include:
– Baja California: Resident along the entire Baja California peninsula.
– Sonora: Breeds in coastal and central regions.
– Sinaloa: Occurs in the northern and central parts of the state.
– Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas: Mostly a migrant and winter resident. Breeds at higher elevations.
– Other Mexican States: Rare migrant.
The core breeding range for the black chin hummingbird centers on the Baja Peninsula and Pacific coast from southern California to Sinaloa. It is less common as a breeder moving inland but can be found nesting at higher elevations. Farther south it occurs as a migrant and winter resident only.
Range Maps
The range maps below provide a visual representation of the black chin hummingbird’s breeding and year-round ranges in the United States and Mexico:
Breeding Range
Image source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Year-Round Range
Image source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The breeding range covers the Pacific Coast and into the southwestern states where suitable desert and mountain habitat is present. The year-round range includes the breeding range as well as areas farther south in Mexico where the species overwinters.
Preferred Habitats
Within its broad geographic range, the black chin hummingbird occupies diverse habitats. It is found in many different environments including:
– Coastal scrub
– Chaparral
– Desert wash
– Pine-oak woodlands
– Canyon streamsides
– Mountain meadows
– Suburban parks and gardens
Key habitat requirements include the presence of nectar-producing flowers and plants, sources of insects for food, and trees or large shrubs for nesting. The black chin hummingbird is flexible in using both natural and human-created habitats.
Elevation Range
The black chin hummingbird occupies a wide range of elevations depending on latitude:
– In the United States: From sea level along the Pacific Coast to over 9,000 feet in mountain ranges of the Southwest.
– In Mexico: From sea level to around 7,500 feet, especially in upland areas of the Mexican Plateau.
– In Baja California: Primarily found below 3,000 feet.
So while it occurs at sea level in many coastal areas, the black chin readily adapts to higher elevations in desert mountains and plateaus. The highest elevations are used seasonally during summer breeding.
Migration and Wintering Range
The migration and wintering range of the black chin hummingbird centers on Mexico. Its movements include:
– Most birds are permanent residents throughout the breeding range.
– Northern populations migrate south in winter. Migrants leave the northwestern U.S. by early October.
– Winters along the Pacific coast of Mexico from Sinaloa south to Oaxaca. Most winter from Sonora to Jalisco.
– Also winters in interior Mexico south to Guerrero and Veracruz.
– Rarely winters in southern Texas.
– Northbound migrants arrive in Arizona and California by late January. Oregon and Washington by mid-March.
So while many black chin hummingbirds are year-round residents, northern breeders migrate south to winter primarily in coastal and central Mexico. The species only rarely overwinters in the United States in southern Texas.
Range Changes Over Time
The black chin hummingbird’s range has expanded northward and eastward significantly since the early 20th century:
– Originally restricted as a breeder to Baja California and southern California.
– By the 1940s had expanded into southern Arizona.
– Continued range expansion through the 1970s and 1980s into New Mexico, Texas, and north to Oregon.
– Range expansion correlated with increasing use of backyard feeders and non-native ornamental plantings.
This range increase demonstrates the black chin hummingbird’s adaptability to human-altered environments and ability to thrive in residential areas. Backyard feeders and gardens provide critical food resources and have allowed the species to succeed far north of its historical range.
Reasons for the Large Range
Several key factors contribute to the black chin hummingbird’s extensive range across such diverse environments:
– **Behavioral flexibility** – This species shows adaptability in habitat use and willingness to occupy urban and suburban areas.
– **Broad diet** – Feeds on a wide variety of nectar sources and small insects, allowing it to live in many different environments.
– **High mobility** – Hummingbirds are specialized for flight and capable of rapidly traversing immense distances. Allows broad geographic distribution.
– **Thermoregulation** – Excellent ability to maintain body heat allows survival in cold climates other small birds cannot tolerate.
– **Migration** – Seasonal migration enables breeding in the north and wintering farther south.
– **Use of feeders** – Readily uses artificial feeders, supplementing natural food supplies and supporting northern populations.
– **Generalist nature** – As compared to other hummingbird species, relatively generalized in habitat preferences and nectar plant usage.
Conclusion
In summary, the black chin hummingbird shows remarkable adaptability across its range, inhabiting coastal scrub, deserts, mountains, and urban areas. This flexibility, along with behaviors like migration and a broad diet, enable it to thrive across a range spanning over 2,000 miles from Canada to Mexico. While originally limited to the southwest, the species has shown dramatic expansion north and east over the past century thanks in part to human-provided resources. The black chin hummingbird’s diverse habitat use and behavioral plasticity will likely continue to allow it success across a wide geographic area.