Allen's Hummingbird - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo © by Zerb21
Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, 1 March 2008

Selasphorus sasin

Identification

L. 3-3 1/2 in (8-9 cm)
Very small hummingbird

Female
Photo © by raulroa
Whittier Narrows Nature Center South El Monte, California, 26 March 2007

Male

• Iridescent green crown and back
• Rufous rump and tail
• Bright, iridescent copper-red gorget
  • Appears dark when not in direct sunlight
• White breast
• Rufous sides

Female

• Bronze-green above, including central tail feathers
• White-tipped rufous outer tail feathers
• Flecked throat
• White underparts with rust tinge on flanks

Similar Species

See Rufous Hummingbird

Distribution

Female
Photo © by Redwing
Walnut, California, 17 June 2008

North America:
Breeds along the coast from southern Oregon to southern California.

Resident in southern California. Also winters in Mexico.

Taxonomy

There are two subspecies:

Subspecies ^[1]

• S. s. sasin:

• Southern Oregon to southern California; winters to central Mexico

• S. s. sedentarius:

• Channel Islands (off southern California)

Habitat

Coastal chaparral, brushland, and edges of redwood forests. Visits garden feeders.

Behaviour

Breeding

The 2 white eggs are laid in a tiny, tightly woven cup placed on a sheltered branch.

Vocalisation

A low chup, and an excited zeeee chuppity-chup

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Clark, C. J. and D. E. Mitchell (2020). Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.allhum.01
3. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2019. Allen%27s_Hummingbird in: All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/ Accessed on 15May 2020.
4. Howell, S.N.G. (2003) Hummingbirds of North America: The Photographic Guide. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691116032
5. Myers, B., Rankin, D.T., Burns, K.J., & Clark, C.J. (2019). Behavioral and morphological evidence of an Allen's × Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin × S. rufus) hybrid zone in southern Oregon and northern California. The Auk, 136, 1-24.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Allen's Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Allen%27s_Hummingbird

External Links

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