Xantus’s Hummingbird

Xantus’s Hummingbird Profile

Hungarian is an interesting language. It’s almost unique in its language group, sharing roots in Europe only with Finland; which tracks well, since Finland is home to the most enjoyable eccentricities in the EU. But while Finnish names are impossible to pronounce (remember Eyjafjallajökull?) Hungarian names can resemble the names for members of the Duster colonies in The Expanse.

One such Martian Hungarian name is Xantus, and one such Xantus was a Hungarian exile and zoologist who now owns this hummingbird.

Xantus’s Hummingbird Facts Overview

This beautiful little nectar feeder, the Xantus’s Hummingbird, is a member of the elegant emeralds. And it’s not only pretty, but ecologically significant as a pollinator and even a mutualist for some of the local trees.

Curiously, despite being heavily described, species like this are lacking in the ecological research department, and a lot more could be done to identify deeper relationships with its environment which could lead to its protection down the line.

Fortunately, this isn’t urgent yet, as the species is doing just fine.

Interesting Xantus’s Hummingbird Facts

1. They’re emeralds

Hummingbirds must be hard to name. They do mostly look distinct, which is usually useful, but being so bright and multicoloured, their names can’t be as obvious as birds like the blackbird or scarlet-chested sunbird.

For example, the closest relative to Xantus’s hummingbird is the white eared hummingbird, named after a tiny flicker of white plumage behind the eye. And that’s because it’s a lot easier to say “White eared hummingbird” than “Metallic violet or bluish-violet-foreheaded, mostly black faced, bright metallic green to bronze green-winged, rusty-rumped hummingbird”. Or, “MVoBVFMBFBMG-BGWRRH” for short.

But unfortunately, Xantus’s hummingbird even has the white ear, too, so even this starts to dip into redundancy, and is precisely the reason birdwatchers have such thick glasses. To make matters worse, as you pull back for a wider view, there are just so many layers to the hummingbird order.

These two little birds in particular are the only members of the genus Basilinna, which is one of 36 hummingbird genera in the tribe Trochilini, or the “emerald” hummingbirds. This is one of the three tribes that make up the subfamily Trochilinae, which is one of six subfamilies that make up all the hummingbirds.

Lost enough, yet? Welcome to the world of hummingbirds!

One excellent thing about the taxonomy of these pretty birds is the naming schemes for their tribes. The emeralds themselves share the subfamily with the mountain gems and the bees (the latter containing the smallest flying vertebrate). Then, there are also mangoes, brilliants, topazes and the dubiously-named coquettes – members of the Lesbiini tribe, likely named after sailors to the New World had been without fresh water for many days and couldn’t get anywhere near them.

Anyway, all things considered, Xantus’s hummingbird isn’t all that strangely-named, and belongs to a wide and diverse group of New World tiny birds that have inspired explorers like Xantus, who got thrown out of Hungary by rebels and ended up in the US. 

2. They have a “gentle disposition”

Xantus has many animal species to his name, and after getting thrown back out of the US, too, he ended up as a curator and collector back in Europe.

By then he’d already tagged this hummingbird, and by 1925, 31 years after his death, it was well studied. Chester C Lamb, the respected Los Angeles naturalist complimented the species in 1925 with:

“…of gentle disposition, though they do not permit the too close proximity of another species while feeding or at their nests. They are tame, but not so much so that the brooding female will ever allow a person to touch her. At most any time, a little squeak will bring one or two birds buzzing around one’s head. When I had my work table out under the oaks the hummingbirds seemed much interested in my work, buzzing around the table and inspecting my instrument box. I had a fluff of cotton hanging nearby, which they soon learned made excellent nest building material.”

This charming and very Snow-White-Journal-style of publication is fun to read but no longer really exists in favour of more objective and peer-reviewable literature, which is scientifically more rigorous, but romantically dead¹.

3. They’re omnivores

This is a medium-sized hummingbird, which is still pretty small for a bird. But even while under 10cm in length at most, it still needs a decent amount of protein that nectar – being a pretty pure carbohydrate – can’t provide.

So, while it flits between flowers in the traditional sense of a hummingbird, Xantus’s hummingbird also pecks about with its straight beak in the leaf litter, looking for insects. And, as an accomplished aerial acrobat, it can catch flies on the wing pretty well, too.

4. They’re pollinators

This species is not fussy about its nectar sources, and will visit a multitude of flowing flowers if they’re available. As such, it’s become a valued ecosystem service by way of its pollination of various local and endemic plant species in California.

One good example is a beautiful tree in the strawberry family, called a madrone. In this hummingbird’s range there’s a species endemic to the region that appears to require the bird for reproduction and is therefore in a strict symbiotic relationship with it.

This means that if the hummingbird were to disappear, so would the tree!

Luckily for both, this isn’t looking to be happening any time soon ².

5. They’re doing ok

Xantus’ hummingbird was last assessed in 2020 by the IUCN. It’s said to have up to around 50,000 mature individuals in a stable population and is healthy and of least concern.

This is despite the note that its habitat is continuously in decline in area and quality, which does suggest that the next assessment may say something different. Meanwhile, though, it’s nice to see such a dainty and exotic little animal doing well³.

Xantus’s Hummingbird Fact-File Summary

Scientific Classification

1. Chester C. Lamb (1925), “Observations on the Xantus Hummingbird”, The Condor.
2. Christine and Steve Howell(2021), “Xantus’s Hummingbird”, Cornell Lab.
3. Author Name (2021), “Basilinna xantusii, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.