Black-chinned HUMMINGBIRD (Archilochus alexandri)
This western counterpart of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only other member of the genus Archilochus. The male’s gorget often appears wholly black but has a violet band along the lower border that is visible when sunlight hits it just right. All age and sex classes pump their tails almost constantly while hovering, which is useful in identifying a female-like bird among larger numbers of other species. It was the first hummingbird known to have a functional sense of smell, although the adaptive significance of this ability is unknown (Goldsmith and Goldsmith 1982). Black-chinned Hummingbirds occupy a broad range of habitats during the breeding season and are especially abundant in the southwestern states and more sparsely distributed in the northern portion of their range, including Montana. They breed from s. British Columbia south through the western states (mostly west of the Rocky Mts.) to s. Texas and nc. Mexico and winter primarily in w. Mexico from Sinaloa to Guerrero. In recent years, small numbers have wintered along the Gulf coast from Texas to Florida.
Status and Occurrence: Uncommon to fairly common breeding resident west of the Continental Divide and uncommon migrant and possible breeder east of the divide. The easternmost records were 10 adults banded by Ned and Gigi Batchelder in Carbon Co. in 2002 and 2003 (see below). Adults typically arrive from early to mid-May and are gone by late Aug. The earliest and latest sightings were near Stevensville by Wayne Tree on 29 Apr 2007 and Judy Hoy on 14 Sep 1996, respectively. On the basis of eggs visible in captured females, laying occurs from mid-May to mid-Jun (N. Batchelder, pers. comm.). Hand (1953) found nests with large young at Missoula on 19 Jul 1942 and 27 Jun 1947.
The only extant Montana specimens from the 1800s were taken near Columbia Falls by R. S. Williams on 6 Jul 1895 and 3 and 6 Jun 1896 (FMNH 5242, 5243; MCZ 188339, 188340). Another taken by Williams on 27 May 1893 cannot be located (see Bendire 1895: 199). The latest specimen was collected by Bernard Bailey at Corvallis on 6 Sep 1911 (JFBMNH 5192).
Habitat: Black-chinned Hummingbirds nest near water in canyon bottoms and other semiarid habitats in the southern part of their range, but in Montana they are birds of riparian cottonwoods and residential areas with tall trees and an abundance of flowering shrubs. They readily come to feeders in towns but seldom are seen in densely settled urban areas. The nest is composed mostly of plant down, spider silk, and lichens and typically is placed on a horizontal dead branch 1-5 m off the ground in rather open circumstances. Nests also are built in peculiar sites such as hanging flower baskets, wind chimes, loops of rope, and clotheslines (see Williamson 2001). The species feeds over a wide range of heights on nectar, spiders, and small insects, the latter gleaned from vegetation and caught in midair.
Conservation: Black-chinned Hummingbirds readily use human-altered habitats and are not listed as a species of concern anywhere. In the last half of the 20th century, they expanded their nesting range in the Pacific Northwest and their wintering range along the Gulf coast (Baltosser and Russell 2000). The BBS is poorly suited for assessing population trends, although the data indicate a well-supported significant increase in numbers of 3.4% per year throughout the w. U.S. from 1999-2009. Sample sizes for Montana BBS routes were too small for trend estimates. The global population size is 2 million birds, 93% in the U.S. and Canada (Rich et al. 2004).
Historical Notes: Bendire’s (1895) report of the specimen taken by R. S. Williams in 1893 is the only published mention of the species in the 19th century. Bailey and Bailey (1918: 162) noted that Columbia Falls taxidermist E. S. Bryant had shot several hummingbirds “with the black gorget” years ago. Saunders (1921) stated that the Black-chinned Hummingbird was a rare summer resident in the northwestern corner of the state on the basis of unpublished sightings by Bernard Bailey, P. M. Silloway, and Joseph Kittredge.
Contemporary Work: None, aside from banding work by the Batchelders outlined below.
Banded Birds: Ned and Gigi Batchelder banded 1,597 Black-chinned Hummingbirds in Montana between 2001 and 2010. Nearly all of them (94%) were caught in the Bitterroot Valley from 2006 to 2010. The 10 birds that they banded near Red Lodge in 2002 and 2003, far from the known breeding range, were adult males that either were migrants or postbreeding dispersers. An adult male banded near Bigfork on 17 May 2004 was recaptured near Sierra Vista, Arizona, by Sheri Williamson on 27 Aug 2006. On 28 Jun 2006, the Batchelders caught an adult female near Hamilton that had been banded near American Falls, Idaho, exactly one month earlier. An adult male that they caught near Hamilton on 26 Jul 2009 had been banded as a juvenile in extreme se. Arizona on 9 Sep 2000. At 9 years and 1 month of age, this bird was only one year shy of the longevity record for the species.
Sponsored by Clifford Jaquith Alexander, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Copyright Notice: © 2012. Jeff Marks, Dan Casey, Paul Hendricks.
All Rights Reserved