Black-chinned Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Houston

In 3 days <5%

173 Verified sightings at Houston
2,384 In all 13 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black-chinned Hummingbird

The black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) is a hummingbird occupying a broad range of habitats from deserts to mountain forests and urban areas in the western United States, southern British Columbia, and Mexico. It is migratory, wintering as far south as Mexico. In sunlight, an iridescent purple gorget forming a ring below the black chin feathers is a male characteristic. When in flight and hovering, its wings make a low-pitched humming sound.

The hybrid between the black-chinned hummingbird and Anna's hummingbird is called "Trochilus" violajugulum. The black-chinned hummingbird is also known to hybridize with Anna's, Lucifer, broad-tailed, and Costa's hummingbirds.

The black-chinned hummingbird is 8.25 cm (3.25 in) long. Adults are metallic green above and white-gray below with green flanks. Their bill is long, straight and slender. The adult male has a black face and chin, a glossy purple gorget (when accurately exposed to sunlight) and a dark forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and no throat patch. Juvenile plumage is similar to that of adult females, but with buff margins on the dorsal feathers. Juvenile... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:14

United States · 2019

© Thomas G. Graves · XC494996 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Wing-beat0:30

United States · 2017

© Russ Wigh · XC349692 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight display0:57

United States · 2016

© Richard E. Webster · XC324495 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
7 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
11 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
12 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
13 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
2 San Antonio 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Ciudad Juárez 🇲🇽 México
~20%
4 Las Vegas 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
5 Mesa 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
6 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Torreón 🇲🇽 México
~10%
9 Phoenix 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Dallas 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black-chinned Hummingbird in Houston?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-chinned Hummingbird sighting in Houston on a given day, based on 173 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 192nd most-seen of the 302 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black-chinned Hummingbird in Houston?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-chinned Hummingbird in Houston on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Black-chinned Hummingbird?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-chinned Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Houston the best place to see a Black-chinned Hummingbird?

16th of 19

Of the 19 cities where we can rate Black-chinned Hummingbird sightings, Houston ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Salt Lake City (United States, about 30%), San Antonio (United States, about 20%) and Ciudad Juárez (México, about 20%).

Where does the Black-chinned Hummingbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black-chinned Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Houston (173 verified sightings), 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.

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