As their name would suggest, Violet-crowned Hummingbirds are medium-sized and have a blue-violet crown and hindneck. They are dark olive-green on the back, white underneath, and have black tips on their red bills. Their tails are coppery bronze.
Females are almost exactly the same except they may be less colorful than males. Immatures have some brown on their heads but the violet on the crown and hindneck is visible.
- Leucolia violiceps
- Length: 3.9 – 4.5 in (10 – 11.5 cm)
- Weight: 0.18 – 0.20 oz (5.1 – 5.8 g)
- Wingspan: 5.9 in (15 cm)
Range
Violet-crowned Hummingbirds range from the mountains in southeastern Arizona, to southwestern New Mexico, and Mexico. They arrive in the United States in February or March and nest in Arizona and New Mexico between April and September.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Violet-crowned Hummingbirds in tropical deciduous and pine-oak forests and semi-arid scrub. They are accustomed to inhabiting near human environments like fields, orchards, urban and suburban parks, and gardens. They nest in sycamore or oak trees. They generally move south for winter, but some may remain at backyard feeders through the winter.
Nectar is the typical fare for Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. They may drink it from flowering plants and hummingbird feeders. In addition, they also eat small insects and spiders by catching them in mid-air or gleaning them from plants.
Violet-crowned Hummingbird Call:
Nests
Nests of Violet-crowned Hummingbirds are made by females out of plant down, lichens, seeds, leaves, and spiderwebs. They usually place the nests atop a tree, around forty feet high, near the end of a branch. They lay two eggs which they incubate for about two weeks.
Fun Fact:
When feeding at an abundant food source, the large Violet-crowned Hummingbirds will stay and defend this territory. However, if there are larger hummingbirds around, they will simply shift to other food sources and dominate over other small species.
