What specific habitat is the Costa's Hummingbird strongly associated with in the American Southwest?
Answer
Arid desert and chaparral habitats like the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts
The preferred environment significantly dictates the likelihood of encountering a Costa's Hummingbird. This species demonstrates a strong preference for arid environments, specifically desert and chaparral habitats. They are numerically dominant in the deserts of the Southwest, including expansive areas such as the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Observing these birds during the spring bloom in open, hot, low-desert scrub is often the most effective strategy for locating them, as their presence is often transient and tied to rainfall patterns supporting ephemeral desert flora.
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