Broad-tailed hummingbird
A hummingbird of mountain meadows and forests that also eats small insects and spiders.
NPS says the broad-tailed hummingbird is 4 to 4 and a half inches long. Males have a rose-red throat, green back and sides, and a rusty tail. The bird prefers mountain meadows and forests, but it has adapted to many urban settings as development has spread.
It feeds mainly on nectar from various flowers and also eats small insects and spiders, so flowers and insects both matter. NPS says it migrates south to Mexico. Utah DWR also reports that the broad-tailed and black-chinned hummingbirds are the species most commonly seen in Utah.
A hummingbird at a flower does not prove that the plant depends on it, and an adult male's throat color does not cover every female or young bird. Watch from a respectful distance and let the bird feed.
How to recognize it
Males show a rose-red throat, green back and rusty tail.
Watching and staying safe
Watch flowers in mountain meadows from the trail.
Places the sources name
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