hummingbird (Allen's?), Big Sur, California (1 Viewer)

[andreas bruun kristensen]

August 6, 2013, I photographed this hummingbird at a lay-by at highway 1 in Big Sur between Monterey and Morro Bay, California.

It was small (smaller than Anna's) and from the photo the tail looks short; I thought it could be a calliope. However, after checking eBird, Allen's seems to be much commoner.

I was wondering if anyone could take a look of the two photos I took of the bird.

Best regards
Andreas Bruun Kristensen
Denmark

 

[Tiraya]

Calliope has a bit of brown along the sides but it is hard to see. The extensive and bright brownish colour here is only found in Allen's and rufous.

Allen's is the common resident species in much of CA especially coastal, and your bird is probably that. But some people wouldn't want to rule out rufous hummingbird here (which in many cases, including these pictures) can't be separated at all. Rufous hummingbirds occur mostly in early migration months (March-May, August-September). Rufous often appears rarely in eBird here, but mostly because people assume they are seeing Allen's and rufous is poorly reported (those that are reported can be false records too).

I've never seen Calliope but they should be even smaller than Allen's or rufous.

 

[njlarsen]

Andreas,
I cannot get beyond the point that it looks very short-tailed (contra Allen's). For lots of comparison photos, look at the opus pages for each (here is one of them http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Allen's_Hummingbird ),
scroll to the bottom, and click the link for the gallery search. For those who see these more than I do, does the post-ocular stripe seen in the side-on picture jibe with Allen's?

Niels

 

[Tiraya]

The eye stripe + dark cheek is nothing special but it isn't always as prominent. Calliope has even less of a stripe though so was there another option you were thinking about? (maybe Anna's x Allen's hybrid would show some of these features)

It does look a bit short-tailed but the pose can greatly affect how long the wings look vs. the tail. Allen's are short-tailed, not as short as Calliope but they are within an immediate range where they can appear similar or overlap. But also the plumage here really doesn't suggest anything besides ruf/Allen's for me.

 

[njlarsen]

The post-ocular stripe seems good for Calliope, look at the second image here: http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Calliope_Hummingbird and several more in the gallery.

But I have only seen Calliope a couple of times and Allen's something similar, so I don't think I have more to add.

Niels

 

[Tiraya]

Calliope usually has a "pinched" eye stripe tho, clear near the eye, narrow in middle, then widens out again after cheeks, it seems pretty consistent here and it seems smudged.

Bill a bit long for Callio too.

Maybe some others could weigh in here so we aren't going back and forth

 

[rkj]

I think it is impossible to say for sure from these photos, but I would favor Calliope based on the short tail. If the bill is long for a Calliope, it is thin for an Allen's/Rufous. I don't think the post-ocular stripe (or any other plumage feature) particularly favors either from what we can see in these photos.

 

[andreas bruun kristensen]

Thank you all for your comments.
Seems like it is best to let this hummer remain unidentified...