General
Magnificent Hummingbird: Large hummingbird of Mexican highlands that occurs in limited areas of southwest U.S. Appears very dark green overall but in good light may show blue-green to green throat, purple forehead, gray vent, and small but prominent white spot behind eye; tail is all dark. Female has dark green upperparts, faintly scaled, dingy gray underparts, and dark tail with white corners. Juvenile female resembles adult female but has more scaled appearance; juvenile male shows green wash on underparts.
Range and Habitat
Magnificent Hummingbird: Found in arid mountain forests of the Southwest and Mexico.
Listen to Call
Voice Text
"tsik", "chip"
Interesting Facts
Magnificent Hummingbird males perch conspicuously and defend their feeding territories aggressively.
It is the second-largest hummingbird north of Mexico. Only the Blue-throated Hummingbird is larger.
It flies more slowly than the smaller hummers, sometimes it will even glide. It is also more of an insect gleaner than other hummer species.
A group of hummingbirds has many collective nouns, including a “bouquet", "glittering", "hover", "shimmer", and "tune” of hummingbirds.
Author
Gary Owen Dick
Related Birds
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Plain-capped Starthroat
.