Lucifer Hummingbird

Overview
Lucifer Hummingbird: Small hummingbird, metallic green upperparts, head, sides, flared purple-red gorget (throat feathers) extending around sides of neck, white breast and belly. Tail is dark and deeply forked. Bill is long and decurved. Direct and hovering flight on rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat
Lucifer Hummingbird: Fairly common in the Big Bend area of Texas, rare to casual in scrublands, arid slopes, and canyons in southwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona. Spends winters in Mexico. Preferred habitats include arid slopes with agave and yucca.

The Lucifer Hummingbird has a large range, estimated globally at 340,000 square kilometers. Native to Mexico and the United States, this bird prefers forest, shrubland, and grassland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 50,000 to 500,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Lucifer Hummingbird is Least Concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
Lucifer means “light-bearing” in Latin, so the name probably refers to the iridescent plumage of the Lucifer Hummingbird. In the past this bird was captured to be stuffed and mounted or sold alive. Males perch atop plants and launch into aerial displays lasting up to 45 seconds in an attempt to attract a mate. A group of lucifer hummingbirds are collectively known as "an inferno of hummingbirds."