Gamebirds to woodpeckersHummingbirds

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Selasphorus platycercus

RareRare in Travis County and Texas

The broad-tailed hummingbird is a medium-sized hummingbird species found in highland regions from western United States and Western Canada to Mexico and Guatemala.

Songs and calls

Flight call, wing noise · United States
Paul Marvin · xeno-canto XC463254 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Flight call · United States
Sue Riffe · xeno-canto XC331690 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Call · United States
Richard E. Webster · xeno-canto XC321730 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Call · United States
Dan Lane · xeno-canto XC196488 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Bar chart and range on eBird

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Where it's been seen

Hotspots with reports in the last 30 days.

Not reported in Travis County in the last 30 days

Browse species seen recently

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Telling it apart

Field marks that matter, and the birds it's most often mixed up with.

Males have a rose throat, a green back and sides, and some rusty in the tail. Females are green above with buff sides, like a female Rufous but larger-tailed.^[1]
Rare here in winter, September to early April.^[2]

Possibly mistaken for

Male
Rufous HummingbirdRare
Females are alike; check the tail.^{[1, 3]}
Broad-tailed Hummingbird:
Larger-tailed; males have a rose throat and green back.
Rufous Hummingbird:
Smaller-tailed, with more orange at the base of the tail.

Sources (3) and credits

Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Travis County bar charts (eBird Basic Dataset), eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Rufous Hummingbird, Audubon Guide to North American Birds

Lookalike photos from Wikimedia Commons: Rufous Hummingbird by VJAnderson (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recordings: Broad-tailed Hummingbird (flight call, wing noise) by Paul Marvin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, xeno-canto); Rufous Hummingbird (call, wing whirr) by Eric DeFonso (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, xeno-canto)

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2026 in Travis County

From every checklist reported in the county this year: who found it first, who finds it most, and when.

First of 2026: Jan 9 · Jane Tillman
Latest report: Mar 9 · Ted Eubanks
Reported on: 12 checklists, 10 days

Who finds it most

1. Celeste Treadway · 4 lists
2. Jane Tillman · 2 lists
3. Shannon Davies · 2 lists
4. Jenny Dubin · 1 list
5. Mark Lyon · 1 list

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Through the year

Winter visitor · usually Sep–Apr

Broad-tailed Hummingbird: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026

Show as table

Broad-tailed Hummingbird: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026
Week	Checklists reporting it
Jan 1–7	0.3%
Jan 8–14	0.5%
Jan 15–21	0.5%
Jan 22–end	0.3%
Feb 1–7	0.2%
Feb 8–14	0.3%
Feb 15–21	0.3%
Feb 22–end	0.3%
Mar 1–7	0.4%
Mar 8–14	0.3%
Mar 15–21	0.2%
Mar 22–end	0.3%
Apr 1–7	0.2%
Apr 8–14	<0.1%
Apr 15–21	<0.1%
Apr 22–end	0%
May 1–7	0%
May 8–14	0%
May 15–21	0%
May 22–end	0%
Jun 1–7	0%
Jun 8–14	0%
Jun 15–21	0%
Jun 22–end	0%
Jul 1–7	0%
Jul 8–14	0%
Jul 15–21	0%
Jul 22–end	0%
Aug 1–7	0%
Aug 8–14	0%
Aug 15–21	<0.1%
Aug 22–end	0%
Sep 1–7	<0.1%
Sep 8–14	<0.1%
Sep 15–21	0%
Sep 22–end	0.2%
Oct 1–7	0.1%
Oct 8–14	<0.1%
Oct 15–21	0.2%
Oct 22–end (now)	0.3%
Nov 1–7	0.5%
Nov 8–14	0.2%
Nov 15–21	0.4%
Nov 22–end	0.3%
Dec 1–7	0.4%
Dec 8–14	0.4%
Dec 15–21	0.2%
Dec 22–end	0.2%

This week: Rare · 0.3% of checklists
Peak: mid Jan · 0.5% of checklists
Earliest eBird record here: Sep 5, 1970
Checklists reporting it: 552 across 27 years
eBird high count: 3 (Jan 1, 2022)
First of 2026: Jan 9
All year, here vs Texas: 0.2% of checklists here, 0.3% statewide
Texas counties with records: 80 of 254 since 2016

Best hotspots for it

Share of complete checklists at each hotspot that reported it (2016–2026). Hotspots with fewer than 15 checklists are left out, and the order discounts small samples, so a hotspot with few checklists can sit below one with a lower share.

1stakeout Broad-billed Hummingbird, Sierra Grande, Austin Hills (2020)14% of 58
2Great Hills Neighborhood Park0.7% of 144

From the eBird Basic Dataset (Sep-2026), complete checklists only.

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