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Two Hummingbirds, California. (1 Viewer)

punkskaphil

Well-known member
I photographed these two Hummingbirds on a road trip from Seattle to San Francisco back in May this year. The first was just inland from Highway 101 in North Cali, the second was in SF itself, by Telegraph Hill. Any ideas? Thanks.
 

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I'd go for Rufous on the 1st and Anna's on the 2nd. Rufous on the cosmetic and the apparent notched tips to the tail, and Anna's for the straight bill,white dot behind eye and the grey streaking on the utc's.....and lest I forget, they are of regular occurence on the West coast.

cheers
 
Thanks for that. Using a book I bought while out there, I'd tentatively put them down as Allen's and Black-chinned females, but I wasn't confident of that.
 
My diagnosis for Rufous on the 1st image was fundamentally based on the notched tail feathers...as cosmetically they are very similar! and my ID for the 2nd image was again structural..based on the straight bill..however from a cosmetic perspective the less contrasting auriculars are better for BCH..Perhaps you should wait for US clearance! on these as 'the two' structural features might overlap? :h?:
 
#2 is definitely Anna's. Black-chinned does not occur in San Francisco.

#1 is probably Allen's. The date was 24 May and most Rufous pass through earlier with a peak in mid-April. By late May they are finished. Allen's remain abundant along the immediate coast through August.
 
Thank you everybody for all the info. I'll put them down as Allen's and Anna's. The actual date of the Anna's photo was 18th May (the processing/exporting was done on 24th) but I don't suppose that affects the identification much.
 
Interesting. Everyone is jumping on Anna's for the second bird, one even saying it is because of the white spot behind the eye, yet Sibley shows Anna's as having an eyebrow, and every Anna's I have seen has an eyebrow.

Incidently, most of the hummingbird species shown in Sibleys have a white spot behind the eye.
 
My diagnosis for Rufous on the 1st image was fundamentally based on the notched tail feathers...as cosmetically they are very similar!
Rufous has a notch on the outer web of R2 (2nd from central) which is more obvious in males than in females. I do not see a notch on R2 in this photo. Where are you seeing notches?
 
According to Sibley's "big book" and Williamson's Hummingbirds of North America, this is a classic immature Anna's female. This bird is fluffed up and the eyebrow isn't as well defined as the perfect photos/drawings the guides depict. I agree, the white dot behind the eye is not diagnostic for any NA species (look at the photo plates in Williamson's for corroboration), but I see no reason to think this is NOT an Anna's, down to the white on the tail feathers.

Humminbird, what species do you think it is?
 
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