Page 15 - Black Range Naturalist, Vol. 2, No. 1
P. 15

  Seventeen (17) hummingbird species have been confirmed in the state of New Mexico, and 8 of those are considered rare. Of those 17, fourteen hummer species have been actually banded by hummingbird banders since 1960.
The A-Spear Ranch is one of several carefully selected banding locations for our study in the south central area of New Mexico. Totals hummingbirds banded during our 2018 study surpasses 3,300 individuals of 7 species including the unusual Lucifer and Ruby-throated.
All data is submitted annually, as required, to the North American Bird Banding Laboratory (USGS) in Laurel, Maryland, and to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
To those of you who like statistics:
• There are about 320 hummingbird species in the world, and close to 75% of those reside near the equator.
• Hummingbirds are found only in the Americas.
• About 60 species live in Mexico.
• According to the North American Banding Laboratory, there have been 17,138 hummingbirds banded in the state of New Mexico during the years from 1960 – 2017.
• Specifically, in 2017, a total of 380 hummingbirds were banded/recorded in the state of New Mexico.
• During the last several years an average of around 35,000 hummingbirds have been banded annually in the US and Canada.
• Hummingbird banding began in 1955.
• Other bird banding in the US was organized during the early 1900’s. The Banding Laboratory also reports about 1.2 million bird species (all birds) are banded each year in the US and Canada.
• In the world, there are close to 10,000 species of birds. North America has over 900. The state of New Mexico has verified about 543. But the hummingbirds seem to be very special to many of us.
Photo of Broad-billed Hummingbird by Richard Castetter
  Photo of Rufous Hummingbird by Eugene Beckes.
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