Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Overview
Buff-bellied Hummingbird: Medium-sized hummingbird with iridescent green upperparts, head, throat, and upper breast, and buff lower breast and belly. Slightly forked tail is dark chestnut-brown with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts. Bill is slightly decurved and red with a black tip.

Range and Habitat
Buff-bellied Hummingbird: Common in southeast Texas and Mexico. Preferred habitats include open woodlands, shrublands, scrubs, and citrus groves.

The Buff-bellied Hummingbird is native to the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. The range of this bird is large, reaching up to 400,000 square kilometers within its native areas. The Buff-bellied Hummingbird has a global population that may be as large as 5 million individual birds. Previously, this bird was rated as Lower Risk but that evaluation has since been downgraded to Least Concern due to no decline in population during the last several years that would indicate the need for concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
Both male and female birds of any age aggressively defend feeding locations within their territories. The Buff-bellied Hummingbird regularly disperses to the northeast from its breeding areas in south Texas. This northerly movement is unique among North American hummingbirds. They have an amazing vocal repertoire which includes a complex song replete with trills and cascades as well as several distinctive call notes. The most familiar call is a chatter that sounds like electric static. A group of hummingbirds has many collective nouns, including a “bouquet", "glittering", "hover", "shimmer", and "tune” of hummingbirds.