Buff-bellied Hummingbird

A Buff-bellied Hummingbird is a fun bird to see while bird watching. Below are some tips to help you identify Buff-bellied Hummingbirds. We have also put together a list of fun Buff-bellied Hummingbird t-shirts, Buff-bellied Hummingbird bird patches, birdhouses, bird feeders, binoculars, stickers, and other fun bird-watching items.

About Buff-bellied Hummingbirds

The Buff-bellied Hummingbird, also known as the “Fawn-breasted hummingbird” or “Yucatan Hummingbird”, is one of the largest hummingbirds in the United States. It is also found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. It is considered one of the least studied species of hummingbirds.

Description and Identification

It is a medium-sized bird that weighs up to 4 or 5 grams. In length, it is about 10 or 11 cm long. For a
hummingbird, this is an average-sized growth. The full-grown birds are olive green on the chest and
very Buffy on the bottom. The tail and its wing are a slight rufous in color and a little white here
and there. The bill of the male is slender and very straight. It also has a red beak with a very dark tip.
The throat of this bird is again very beautiful. It is of metallic green color and really brings out the
beauty in its contrast. However, female birds are less extravagant. They have more dull colors on
their body. They have a dark upper bill with very little variety of colors on their body.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Size

Male: 4.07 grams

Female: 3.67 grams

Both the male and the female grow to 3.9 to 4.3 inches.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Appearance

The male is olive green with a cinnamon belly. The lower chest has different colors that range from white to various shades of green and gray. It also has forked wings. Its slender bill is dark at the tip and reddish as it moves towards its throat. The throat itself is golden green.

The female of the species is noticeably less colorful in comparison.

The young ones have duller colors with a grayish throat and buffy feathers.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Food

They are again hummingbirds so they feed open small insects and choose to have nectar quite often.
They have multiple flowers around the areas in which they choose to live, making nectar a staple
diet. They choose to suck the nectar out of the flower with the help of their long beaks and they also
catch small insects mid-flight. They are a lot in number and therefore usually go feeding only in
flocks together.

The birds have a long slender bill and an extendable tongue that adequately equips them to feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees.

They also have buffy feathers that allow them to catch insects during flight and feed on them later to meet their protein requirements.

Sometimes, they may feed on sugar-water that is left out for hummingbird feeders in different places.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Habitat

They live close to areas that are covered in forests and thickets of land. The area from the lower Rio
Grande valley of the southernmost part of Texas to the Yucatan peninsula of Eastern Mexico, then to
Northern Belize and finally ending at Northwestern Guatemala of central America. They prefer pine-
oak forests and several other semi-arid shrubs and trees. They have other choices of having a
waterbody nearby than not having anything to supply water to them at all.

The birds thrive in thickets, pine forests, open woodland, and semi-arid scrubs. Over time, they have expanded their breeding grounds towards the coastal regions such as The Gulf of Mexico.

Range and Migration

This bird is only partially migratory. This essentially means that they don’t require to migrate, the
the area they have chosen as habitat has pretty solid weather conditions which do not force them into
moving anywhere even during harsh weather conditions. Although not always, they sometimes
spent their winters in the gulf coast of the United States of America from the stretch between Texas
to Florida.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Life and Behavior

Both the male and female buff have a wide range of songs, the most famous one being a song that sounds like static electricity.

During courtship, the male flies in a U-Shaped pattern to attract females. Both males and females are promiscuous and may have several mates in the same season.

The birds are solitary and males are only involved in the actual mating. No bond is formed between mating pairs.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Nesting

The female is the one who usually builds the nest here. It uses the various different types of raw
materials it can get from anywhere to build itself a little nest. They usually choose places like trees or
a shrub to make these nests. They ensure that they are hidden well from the eyes of a predator.
They do not make the nests very high off the ground. They have feeding locations and it’s a marked
territory. They always make sure that their territory is not taken by or visited by other
hummingbirds. The males and the females take turns to guard the territory that they have. They
guard their territories in a very aggressive manner. They ensure that their nest and the surrounding
is safe. The female usually lays two eggs that are within color.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Buff-bellied Hummingbirds

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Buff-bellied Hummingbirds are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird T-shirts

If you love the Buff-bellied Hummingbird you should purchase a Bird Watching Academy & Camp T-shirt. To help support bird conservation we donate 10 percent to bird conservation activities.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Iron On Patches

Kids, Youth, and Adults love to collect our Bird Watching Academy & Camp iron-on patches. Our bird-watching patches help you keep track of the birds you have seen and identified. You can also display the patches on our Bird Watching Academy & Camp banners.

The Buff-bellied Hummingbird is a great iron-on patch to start your collection with. The patches are durable and can be sewn on or ironed on to just about anything.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Buff-bellied Hummingbird. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders for Buff-bellied Hummingbirds

There are many types of bird feeders. Here are our favorite bird feeders for your backyard. We use all of these bird feeders currently. Kids will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. Using this collection of bird feeders will provide a wide variety and many types of birds.

Best Bird Houses for Buff-bellied Hummingbirds

There are many types of birdhouses. Building a birdhouse is always fun but can be frustrating. These 4 birdhouses have become our favorites. Getting a birdhouse for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. We spent a little extra money on these birdhouses but they have been worth the higher price and look great.