Costa's Hummingbird - Palm Canyon, CA

During a desert trip from Palm Springs to Pheonix, I stopped in Palm Desert and went for a small walk in the hills where i found this little gem. One of the smaller hummingbirds of the arid countryside, the males can easily be identified by the long slim feathers of the gorget (throat patch) that extend down the side of its neck. Also hard to see in the picture but the iridescence of the patch is more purple than red. The plant the little bird is feeding on is a Chuparosa plant which translated from Spanish aptly means hummingbird bush.