Lampornis clemenciae
The Blue-throated Mountaingem (Lampornis clemenciae) is a majestic and robust hummingbird, making it the largest regularly occurring hummingbird in the United States. Measuring 11.5 to 12.5 cm (4.5-5 inches) in length and weighing 6.8-8.4 grams, its substantial size is a key identifier. Both sexes display iridescent bright green upperparts, dull grayish underparts, a prominent white post-ocular stripe, and white tips on the outer tail feathers. The striking sexual dimorphism is evident in the...
This species primarily inhabits montane evergreen forests, pine-oak woodlands, and shaded canyons, typically favoring areas with dense vegetation and flowing water. It is found at high elevations, generally ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 meters (5,000-11,500 feet).
Their diet primarily consists of nectar from a wide variety of tubular flowers, supplemented significantly by small insects and spiders. They forage by hovering at flowers to extract nectar and by hawking or gleaning insects from vegetation.
The Blue-throated Mountaingem is a diurnal species, active from dawn to dusk, often roosting solitarily in dense foliage overnight. Its foraging strategy includes "traplining," where individuals visit a circuit of flower patches repeatedly, and also gleaning small insects and spiders from foliage...
The Blue-throated Mountaingem's primary breeding range extends across the "sky island" mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in the United States, stretching south through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental mountain systems in Mexico. While some po...
Least Concern
- The Blue-throated Mountaingem is the largest hummingbird species regularly found in the United States, often reaching nearly 5 inches in length. - It boasts arguably the most complex and varied vocal repertoire of any hummingbird species in North America, with males singing elaborate songs. - M...