Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae

Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae, Female. Photograph taken within the greater Palm Springs area of southern California, March 2021. Photography courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae, Female. Photographs taken in the greater Zihuantanejo area, Guerrero, January 2019. Photographsand identifications courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo. Note that this bird is approximately 800 km (500 miles) south of its known range.

Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae, Males. Photographs taken in the greater Zihuantanejo area, Guerrero, January 2019. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo. Note that these birds are approximately 800 km (500 miles) south of its known range.

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Males. Photograph taken within the greater Palm Springs area of southern California, March 2021. Photography courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae, Males. Birds photographed in the greater Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, December 2019.

Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae, Male. Photograph taken within the greater Palm Springs area of southern California, March 2021. Photography courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Costa’s Hummingbird, Calypte costae, is a member of the Trochilidae Family of Hummingbirds. They are small in stature. In Mexico they are found in the coastal regions within the Pacific Slope in the States of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit at elevations up to 1,200 m (3,000 feet). From a conservation perspective Costa’s Hummingbird is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found throughout the Sonoran Desert in desert scrub, chaparral and coastal scrub. They consume nectar from a wide variety of desert plants that vary on a seasonal basis.