Hummer Help, Mindo Ecuador (1 Viewer)

Ecuadorrebel

Writer, Photographer, Guide

• Jul 30, 2010

• #1

I originally thought that this was a Buff-Tailed Coronet but after looking at it again I can't justify the puff legs. Same with the Rufus-Tailed Hummingbird. I am open for suggestions. I don't see any Pufflegs with this color in the tail and I don't see any other hummers that have this color with the pufflegs.

thanks

Steve

 

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njlarsen

Gallery Moderator

Opus Editor

Supporter

• Jul 30, 2010

• #2

take a look at Booted Racket-tail; notice the southern variant (which may or may not be a little out of range, I don't know)

Niels

 

S

screaming piha

Well-known member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #3

Booted Racket-tail is a tiny thing with, erm, rackets on its tail. This is a Buff-tailed Coronet.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=buff-tailed coronet&w=35396077@N04

 

Ecuadorrebel

Writer, Photographer, Guide

• Jul 30, 2010

• #4

Thanks Niels. I had considered the Booted Racket-Tail but as Ridgely describes the female "Mostly white below with sparse green spotting on sides and flanks. Tail much shorter than male but still forked, mostly green, outer feathers blue-black with white tips." I took some photos of male Booted Racket-Tails that day but this doesn't seem to fit the description of the female as it has no white below and the tail is not split.

Piha, I agree that the photos of the Buff-tailed Coronet look just like those of this bird. My question is why Ridgely doesn't mention anything about the puff legs as they are very obvious in these photos as well as the photos you mentioned.

 

Southern Frogmouth

Well-known member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #5

Because while it is probably the best book for Ecuador doesn't mean it is a good book

 

Birdingcraft

Well-known member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #6

Funny that they wouldn't mention the "puff legs". Maybe they just didn't consider it to be an important field mark?
On a side note, a Buff-tailed Coronet once briefly perched on my head at Bellavista. I think it's the only time I have had an experience like that with a hummingbird.

 

Ecuadorrebel

Writer, Photographer, Guide

• Jul 31, 2010

• #7

TringBirder said:

Because while it is probably the best book for Ecuador doesn't mean it is a good book

Click to expand...

I am not disputing your statement but you would have thought either Ridgely in writing the description or Greenfield when creating the illustration would have picked up on this obvious identifying feature. I checked around the web and couldn't find any description that mentioned the puff legs. I guess we learn new things every day.

Thanks

 

njlarsen

Gallery Moderator

Opus Editor

Supporter

• Jul 31, 2010

• #8

screaming piha said:

Booted Racket-tail is a tiny thing with, erm, rackets on its tail.

Click to expand...

No rackets in female or young male, and buffy leggings present in southern forms.

You are, however, probably right; In my defense, I wrote my initial post w/o access to any books

Niels

 

dacol

Well-known member

• Jul 31, 2010

• #9

Ecuadorrebel said:

... I checked around the web and couldn't find any description that mentioned the puff legs. I guess we learn new things every day.

Click to expand...

This is interesting. The illustration in Ridgely and Greenfield does show a bit of white on the legs but there is no mention of this feature in the text as you pointed out. In Birds of Colombia by Hilty and Brown, the plate with the B.-t. Coronet was done by Guy Tudor and it does show the bird with white puffs on the legs and this is not mentioned in the text either. However, looking at all the hummingbird illustrations on that page one possible reason for the omission manifests itself. It is not an identifying feature for this particular hummer species. Several other species on that page also have white puffed legs, some more than others. This possible reason was alluded to by Birdingcraft in post #6.

Dalcio

 

njlarsen

Gallery Moderator

Opus Editor

Supporter

• Jul 31, 2010

• #10

Having just looked at the first 10 images of Buff-Tailed Coronet in the gallery, in more than half of them there are no visible puff legs. Angle can explain some, but regarding the rest it seems that this hummer often sits so that no puff is visible. I would therefore also not stress this in a field guide.

Niels

 

Ecuadorrebel

Writer, Photographer, Guide

• Jul 31, 2010

• #11

Thanks for the input Dalcio. I recently purchased a copy of "Birds of Northwest Ecuador" by W. Miles McMullan and Andrés Vásquez. The illustration in this book doesn't show much of a puff leg either. I guess they don't consider the puff legs to be that significant as the tail is suppose to identify it from other birds. Some birds match up perfectly with the illustrations and others take a little more work to id. I am heading to Mindo tomorrow for a day trip and maybe I will come back with some more anomalies. Thanks for the help

Steve