diff --git a/src/ol/source/xyzsource.js b/src/ol/source/xyzsource.js
index 166df55699..fea537eebe 100644
--- a/src/ol/source/xyzsource.js
+++ b/src/ol/source/xyzsource.js
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ goog.require('ol.source.TileImage');
  * @api stable
  */
 ol.source.XYZ = function(options) {
+  options = options || {};
   var projection = options.projection !== undefined ?
       options.projection : 'EPSG:3857';
 
diff --git a/test/spec/ol/source/xyzsource.test.js b/test/spec/ol/source/xyzsource.test.js
index f260635dab..232ff43131 100644
--- a/test/spec/ol/source/xyzsource.test.js
+++ b/test/spec/ol/source/xyzsource.test.js
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ describe('ol.source.XYZ', function() {
 
   describe('constructor', function() {
 
+    it('can be constructed without options', function() {
+      var source = new ol.source.XYZ();
+      expect(source).to.be.an(ol.source.XYZ);
+      expect(source).to.be.an(ol.source.TileImage);
+      expect(source).to.be.an(ol.source.UrlTile);
+      expect(source).to.be.an(ol.source.Tile);
+    });
+
     it('can be constructed with a custom tile grid', function() {
       var tileGrid = ol.tilegrid.createXYZ();
       var tileSource = new ol.source.XYZ({
@@ -179,4 +187,7 @@ describe('ol.source.XYZ', function() {
 
 });
 
+goog.require('ol.source.Tile');
+goog.require('ol.source.TileImage');
+goog.require('ol.source.UrlTile');
 goog.require('ol.source.XYZ');