Basilinna xantusii
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
Xantus's hummingbird (Basilinna xantusii), previously known as the black-fronted hummingbird, is a species in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to the Baja California Peninsula. Xantus's hummingbird was early placed in genus Basilinna, which predated its discovery, then moved to genus Hylocharis, and then in the early 2000s moved back to Basilinna. It shares that genus only with the white-eared hummingbird (B. leucotis). It is monotypic.
It is named for John Xantus de Vesey (Xántus János), a Hungarian zoologist who collected the first specimen. Xantus's hummingbird is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long. Males weigh an average of 3.5 g (0.12 oz) and females 3.4 g (0.12 oz). Their bills are straight and about 1.7 cm (0.67 in) long; males' are red with a black tip. Females' maxilla is black with a pinkish base and their mandible pinkish red with a black tip. Males have a golden green to emerald green crown, nape, and upperparts with rufous edging on the uppertail coverts. Their forehead and chin are black, their face mostly black with a wide white stripe behind the eye, and their throat iridescent emerald... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Xantus's Hummingbird sighting in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, based on 74 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 100 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and June
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Xantus's Hummingbird in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, against about 30% in March, May and September–January, the lowest months. Those are among Cabo Pulmo National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 120 mm in September. July and August have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Xantus's Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Xantus's Hummingbird sightings, Cabo Pulmo National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Bahía de Loreto National Park (Mexico, about 30%) and El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Xantus's Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Cabo Pulmo National Park (74 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
