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Pollenated Hummer (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter zoutedrop
- Start date
Richard Fray
Registered Member
It looks like a female Black-chinned Hummingbird to me. Ignoring the yellow pollen, it's small-looking, very grayish overall, has a relatively long, slightly droopy, all black bill, and the characteristic Black-chinned shape, especially in the first picture with her tail held up as she hovers.
Tz'unun
Featherless Biped
Black-chinned and Costa's are very similar. Though we can't see the diagnostic primary shapes, this bird has the proportionally large head, proportionally short bill, and pale postocular stripe of Costa's.
Richard Fray
Registered Member
I would, of course, bow to Sheri's vastly superior knowledge. I've got a LOT to learn and there's nobody better to learn from than Sheri.
Mind you, playing devil's advocate, I've always thought of Costa's as having a slighter and straighter bill than this, and usually a greener forehead and upperparts, with distinctly more white above the eye and less black on the lores (I don't think I've ever seen a Costa's with such thick, dark lores). Plus the fact that Black-chinned is very common at Paton's while Costa's is reasonably rare there (although usually annual).
But then, I haven't written a field guide to hummingbirds, so I'm a relative layperson compared to our resident expert! :t:
Mind you, playing devil's advocate, I've always thought of Costa's as having a slighter and straighter bill than this, and usually a greener forehead and upperparts, with distinctly more white above the eye and less black on the lores (I don't think I've ever seen a Costa's with such thick, dark lores). Plus the fact that Black-chinned is very common at Paton's while Costa's is reasonably rare there (although usually annual).
But then, I haven't written a field guide to hummingbirds, so I'm a relative layperson compared to our resident expert! :t:
Tz'unun
Featherless Biped
You bring up some important points, Richard. Allow me to address them:
- Bill shape varies within species as well as between, but in my experience most Costa's, especially the longer-billed females, show a slight decurvature similar to Black-chinned.
- The pale fringing visible on the nape and lower back is characteristic of juvenile plumage, which would account for the drab forehead and upperparts and the inconspicuous "eyebrow" (which in many adults and some juveniles can be helpful in separating both Costa's and Anna's from Black-chinned and Ruby-throated). Adult female Costa's are also rather drab this time of year, having worn their current plumage since last summer/fall.
- The presence of pollen on the throat raises the possibility of pollen on the forehead, which would obscure its natural color.
- I haven't found the lores to be helpful in distinguishing between Calypte and Archilochus.
- Probability should always be considered, but it can trip you up if you give it too much weight.
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Tz'unun
Featherless Biped
A Black-shinned would have less white behind the eye than this bird (a triangular white postocular spot rather than a long pale postocular line).
zoutedrop
zoutedrop
What a great discussion, and an excellent hobby. Thanks all for participating. Wish the pictures were a little sharper. Initially, when I saw the color, my mind raced with the hope of something special. It was the second time in a day that I saw a hummer drinking from a puddle, a first for me.
Tz'unun
Featherless Biped
emoxley, Allen's Hummingbirds do pass through southeastern Arizona later in the summer (as early as late June), but the Channel Islands subspecies (Selasphorus sasin sedentarius) is almost exclusively nonmigratory and restricted to southern California. As far as I know, there is only one record of that subspecies outside southern California, and it could only be identified by in-hand measurements.
zoutedrop's bird has none of the rufous coloration that helps to distinguish Allen's and its closest relatives (Rufous, Calliope, and Broad-tailed) from other hummingbirds. The absence of rufous points us to the "green-and-gray" group, which includes Costa's, Anna's, Black-chinned, and Ruby-throated. The field marks I outlined above narrow it down to Costa's.
If you'd like to hone your hummingbird ID skills, you could start with the links above, which will take you to Flickr galleries that I've assembled to help people with identification of the most common and widespread U.S. species.
zoutedrop's bird has none of the rufous coloration that helps to distinguish Allen's and its closest relatives (Rufous, Calliope, and Broad-tailed) from other hummingbirds. The absence of rufous points us to the "green-and-gray" group, which includes Costa's, Anna's, Black-chinned, and Ruby-throated. The field marks I outlined above narrow it down to Costa's.
If you'd like to hone your hummingbird ID skills, you could start with the links above, which will take you to Flickr galleries that I've assembled to help people with identification of the most common and widespread U.S. species.
