Hummingbirds of Southern Arizona: Plain Capped Starthroat

The Plain Capped Starthroat is another large hummingbird with the longest bill of any hummer in North America. This is a very rare bird to the US. This year only two locations have been reported, Madera Canyon (Santa Rita Mountains) and Patagonia (along the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek). Last year it was seen in Ash Canyon (Huachuca Mountains). A few years ago there was one at Agua Caliente, a regional park in the NE corner of Tucson. There have been no reports of sightings in any other US state.

Plain Capped Starthroat

Plain Capped Starthroat

Next up on my alphabetical series of "5" Star Photos we come to the Plain Capped Starthroat. This large hummingbird is a rare visitor to the United States. You usually have to watch the Arizona bird reports and head out to a specific location if and when it has been sighted. The Starthroat has been reported in Montosa Canyon, Ash Canyon, Miller Canyon, and Patagonia over the past five years. In 2012 there were no US sightings.

At five inches it dwarfs the more common hummers. (Only the Blue Throated and Magnificent are larger: five and a quarter inches). The Starthroat has the longest bill of any hummer and a very distinctive large white stripe down its back. White "lightning bolts" on its head and a purple "lightning" bolt on its throat also make it easy to identify.

Plain Capped Starthroat

Patience, Persistence, and Luck

I must say that I feel fortunate to have found and photographed 15 different species of Hummingbirds in Arizona. It takes patience, persistence, and most of all luck. The Allen's, Berylline, Calliope, and Plain Capped Starthroat are difficult to find because they don't seem to return to the same place every year. The Violet Crowned is a rare hummer but usually found (with patience) at Patton's in Patagonia. The Lucifer is another rare hummer needing persistence as well as patience, but seems to return, even if infrequently, to Ash Canyon. The White Eared seems to return to Miller Canyon every year. And, the Blue Throat is a frequent visitor to Portal in the Chiricahua Mountains as well as in Miller Canyon. But with the Plain Capped Starthroat you have to watch the Bird Alert lists. Then you drop what you are doing and head out to that location with the "hope" of finding it. Chances? Even with persistence and patience, luck is required. And, it's not just luck finding one. In order to get a good photo you need to be relatively close, have good lighting, and not have any obstructions in your way. Result? Often that's just too many conditions.  I made four trips to Montosa Canyon this summer where the Starthroat was reported. Saw him once it a tree covered up by leaves and branches and at a distance of 75 feet. Not a great photo. Saw one a couple of times in Ash Canyon. But he would zip into the furthest feeder (which was "nestled" in the trees), stay not more than five seconds, and fly way off into the woods. I'll show you a very poor photo so you get the idea:

Plain Capped Starthroat

 Now, I am sure that other people (maybe one in ten) who have gone to Montosa Canyon or Ash Canyon had a little more "luck" and got a good photo. I am sure of this, because occasionally it has happened to me. Here is a photo of a Plain Capped Starthroat I took three years ago at one of the feeders at Patton's in Patagonia:

Plain Capped Starthroat

Now, as if I wasn't already placing too many demands on my photograph, what I really want is a more "natural" photograph, not one on a feeder. Well, this is it -- at least for now:

Plain Capped Starthroat

Never underestimate the value of Luck  --  although luck favors the prepared mind.

Plain Capped Starthroat & Berylline Hummingbirds

I mentioned on Wednesday going to Montosa Canyon to find the Plain Capped Starthroat and Berylline Hummingbirds that had been reported there. As I explained, I failed to find either of them. However, I thought I could dig up a couple of old photos I have taken of each.

First the Berylline. Adults are four inches and metallic olive green with a rusty gray lower belly. The tail and primary wings are rufous in color and slightly forked. The underwing is also rufous making it easier to identify in flight. The bill of the male is straight and very slender. It is very dark red in coloration, almost black. The female is less colorful than the male. They feed on nectar and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue. They will also catch insects to munch on.

Its normal habitat is forests and thickets ranging from Western Mexico to Central Honduras. It strays to southeastern Arizona during the summer months. It is also known to breed occasionally while in Arizona. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Females lay two white eggs. The Berylline is essentially non-migratory.

Female Berylline Hummingbird

Plain Capped Starthroat. Adults are five inches with metallic bronze on their upper-parts, tail, back and crown. They have white "lightning bolt" above and in back of their eye. The Starthroat also has a white patch on the rump (which no other North American Hummingbird has). The gorget is purple. The breast and underparts are a grayish white. The bill is straight, long and very slender. It is darkly colored. The female is slightly less colorful than the male.

Their range is from Western Mexico to Southern Costa Rica. It is a rare visitor to the US being reported in the Chiricahua Mountains, Huachuca Mountains, Santa Rita Mountains (Montosa Canyon as well as Patagonia), and in 2007 at Agua Caliente Park four miles from us. They, too, feed on nectar and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue. They will also catch insects to munch on.

Plain Capped Starthroat

Rare Hummingbirds

While on the subject of Hummingbirds I thought I would share with you photos of the rarer hummers of the US. The Calliope is found in very small numbers in the far western states and Arizona. The Berylline, White Eared, Lucifer, Violet Crowned, Plain Capped Starthroat, and Blue Throated are only found in the extreme southern Mountain Ranges of Southeast Arizona (Chiricahuas, Huachucas, and Santa Ritas).

Calliope Hummingbird Male

Berylline Hummingbird Female

White Eared Hummingbird Male

Lucifer Hummingbird Male

Violet Crowned Hummingbird

Plain Capped Starthroat

Blue Throated Hummingbird male

The Star of the Show

My good friend Susie Nishio, who like me loves to photograph birds, sent me an email two days ago that a Plain Capped Starthroat (hummingbird) had been seen at Patton's in Patagonia. So yesterday I headed out right after breakfast and after about an hour look who showed up:

Plain Capped Starthroat (female)

In the first photo you get a good look at the plumage. The metallic bronze on the wings and white on the back is very unique and very elegant. You can see the lightning bolt white streak on the head. In the second photo you got a nice look at the tail which is stunning. The Plain Capped Starthroat is quite large (5 inches) and dwarfs the other hummers. (the Blue Throat and Magnificent are also large but are usually found at higher elevations). At Paton's in Patagonia the other hummers were all in the 3.5 to 4.00 range, so it was easy to find him when he came by. He didn't stay long at the feeders. He went straight to a feeder, drank, and then immediately flew into a tree. The Plain Capped Starthroat feeds on both nectar and insects.