Selasphorus platycercus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) is a medium-sized hummingbird species found in highland regions from western United States and Western Canada to Mexico and Guatemala. Medium in size, the broad-tailed hummingbird is 4 inches (10 cm) in length and possesses an overall wingspan of 5.25 inches (13.3 cm). Weighing around 3.6 grams (0.13 oz), the female tends to be slightly larger than the male. Adults of both sexes show an iridescent green back, white eye ring and a rounded black tail projecting beyond their wing tips, from which their name was inspired.
This species shows sexual dimorphism, which means that male and female have different characteristics. The male possesses a characteristic bright rose-red gorget. An identification characteristic is the white eye ring. The female can be distinguished from the male by her paler coloration, cinnamon flanks, and spotted cheeks absent in the male.
The broad-tailed hummingbird produces several different sound patterns. This bird's call sounds like a sharp "cheet", which is repeated "cheet cheet cheet cheet...". Hummingbird wing beats have also been found to be a communication signal... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Butterfly World | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Broad-tailed Hummingbird sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 399 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 37th most-seen of the 194 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Broad-tailed Hummingbird in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Broad-tailed 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.
6th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Broad-tailed Hummingbird sightings, Grand Canyon National Park ranks 6th at about 20%. The best odds are in Rocky Mountain National Park (United States, about 50%), Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (Mexico, about 30%) and Grand Teton National Park (United States, about 20%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Broad-tailed Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Grand Canyon National Park (399 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.
