Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri

Small hummingbird found in a variety of woodland and brushy habitats. Male distinctive with purple-and-black throat. Female has whitish underparts with almost no buffy tones (perhaps a very light wash on flanks). Tends to pump its tail more than other hummingbirds. Readily comes to sugar water feeders and flower gardens. Common in summer over much of the western U.S., barely into Canada. Winter range extends just south of Mexico City, and increasingly regular on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. Very difficult to distinguish from Ruby-throated Hummingbird, especially females and young males; thankfully limited range overlap. Black-chinned averages somewhat dingier green above, longer-billed with a slight droop, and has slightly broader, more club-shaped outer wing feathers, but these differences are all extremely subtle.