Violet-Crowned Hummingbird

The more I learn about the birds I recently saw in southeastern Arizona the more I begin to appreciate what an amazing place it is. The violet-crowned hummingbird is another bird species that is mostly a Mexican and Central American bird with a small overlap in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It is readily identifiable because of its white underparts, a red bill and a violet-blue crown. It is considered migratory, but increasing numbers are staying in Arizona year-round. I saw my first one up Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains at the hummingbird feeders at Madera Kuba B&B. I later saw several of them at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia. 

In Madera Canyon at Kuba B&B. 

I saw several at the Paton Hummingbird Center and this is probably my best photo. 

This photo best captures the violet-blue crown. 

An old timer in Patagonia told me that he had been watching them for four or five hours that day. There had been four. One we saw was just a youngster and had hardly any violet-blue on its crown. He said the nest was behind the feeder high up in a tree, but it is so full of foliage that the nest can't be seen. 

There are two subspecies. I saw ssp. ellioti which is found in small portions of Arizona and New Mexico south to northweestern and central Mexico (to central Michoacan and Hidalgo). 

Range from Birds of the World.