Broad-Billed Hummingbird Nest in Tucson

While visiting relatives in northeastern Tucson, my cousin showed me a nest in her backyard bougainvillea. It turned out to be that of a Broad-Billed Hummingbird. What caught my attention was the position of the nest. Rather than the upright cup I’m used to seeing for hummingbirds, this nest had its opening on its side and appeared almost penduline.

The theory we have about how this nest came to be in this position is that two weeks ago, before she knew there was a nest in the bush, my cousin was arranging the branches to drape over the fence so it would flower on both sides of the fence. This must have repositioned the nest, but rather than abandon the nest, the mother bird did her best to use the nest in its unusual position. A week following this event, my cousin discovered the nest. As you can see from the pictures, the babies seem healthy, though struggling to maintain their position inside the small nest.