Hummingbird Identification

I thought I would end the hummingbird season with some helpful hints on identifying the different species. Obviously, the males are much easier to identify than the females because of their gorgets.

1. Color of the Bill: If the bill is red, then it can only be one of five species: Violet Crowned, Berylline, Buff Bellied, Broad Billed, and White Eared. In the US the Buff Bellied is the only one found in Texas; and the other four are only found in Southern Arizona.
2. Size: The Plain Capped Starthroat, Blue Throat, and Magnificent stand out because of their size: 5 to 5 1/4 inches. For all others, size is not use as useful. 
3. Shape of Bill: The Lucifer has a distinctly long and significantly curved bill. It is unmistakeable. For all others, the bill shape is only a help when you can clearly see the bill from the side. Even then it is not the best way to identify a species. 
4. White Stripes on the Head: Plain Capped Starthroat, White Eared, and Blue Throat are the only hummers with distinct white stripes below and/or above the eye. The Plain Capped Starthroat has a wide stripe below the eye and a thinner "lightning bolt" stripe above the ear; the White Eared has a wide stripe above the eye (the female has a very small stripe below the eye as well); and the Blue Throat has a long narrow white stripe above the eye and a small narrow white stripe below the eye.
5. Belly color: The Violet Crowned's chin, neck, and breast are all pure white. It is easily visible and easy distinguishable from all other hummers.  The Green Violet Eared (which I have never seen), the Berylline, Broad Billed, White Eared, and Magnificent all have very dark bellies. This is even true of the Green Eared, Beryline, Buff Bellied females. The Blue Throat's is completely grey. Lucifer, Broad Tail, and Calliope have buff color under the wings extending somewhat into the belly. Allen's and Rufous have orange bellies which make them easy to distinguish from all other hummers. Since Allen's and Rufous ranges overlap on the California coast distinguishing one from another is very difficult, though.
6. Wing Color: The Berylline has a rufous wings, as does the Rufous and Allen's to a lesser extent. Wing color on all other hummers is indistinguishable.
7. Gorget: Gorgets are a great help in identifying the males. Their colors can change with the light, so you must see them when the color is distinguishable. The magenta colored gorget on the Lucifer is the longest of any hummer (by far). The purple gorget on the Costa's is long and flared which makes it easily distinguishable from all others. Anna's not only has a red throat but a red crown as well making it easily distinguishable. The Calliope's gorget is rosy colored but streaked, not full. The Magnificent has a bright (light) green gorget and a clearly visible purple crown making it easy to identify. The Blue Throat has a blue gorget. Gorgets on the other hummers aren't as much help. 
8. Central Patch: Anna's females have a red central patch. Allen's and Rufous females have orange central spots (not nearly as large as in the Anna's). Those are the only real distinctive throats of females. 

Here then are the 15 hummers I have photographed:

Anna's

Berylline

Black Chin

Blue Throat

Broad Billed

Broad Tailed

Calliope

Costa's

Lucifer

Magnificent

Plain Capped Starthroat

Ruby Throated

Rufous

Violet Crowned

White Eared

Patton's in Patagonia

I went over to the office this morning about 4:30 to check and see what was happening at the British Open (golf). Couldn't get into the office at first. There were about ten or so javelinas in the way. Some were adults and some young ones. The young ones may have been the ones I photographed a month ago on the day they were born. But, that's another story (you can see the earlier blog).


Yesterday, Christine and I went to Patagonia. First stop was Patton's. Second, the "butterfly garden" in  town. Today's Blog: Patton's. 

We have several hummingbird feeders. And, so we have a fair number of  hummingbirds around. Common to our feeders are the Broad Tail and Anna's. Frequently, we have Costa's and Broad Billed. Occasionally, we have the Caliope. Beyond those five species, you have to go into the southern mountain ranges. The Black Chin and Broad Billed are usually found in all of the southern mountain ranges. But, interestingly, different sites have "specialties." Beatty's Orchard in Miller Canyon (Huachuca Mountains) is the most reliable spot for Magnificent, Blue Throat, Beryline, and White Eared. Ash Canyon (also in the Huachuca's) is the most reliable place for the Lucifer and maybe Plain Capped Starthroat. Patton's along the Patagonia Creek (adjacent to the Santa Rita Mountains) is the most reliable place for the Violet Crowned and Rufus, with the occasional Allen's. Even the extremely rare Cinnamon Hummingbird has been found there. Count 'em, that's 16 of the 19 hummingbird species. Only the Ruby Throat, found throughout the East, the Buff Bellied and Green Eared found it the Southernmost tip of Texas can't be found in Arizona. So far, I have, what I think are good photos of 12 of the Arizona Hummingbird species. Maybe by the end of the summer .... Anyway, here are a few from yesterday's trip to Patton's:

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Violet Crowned Hummingbird

White Eared Hummingbird

Female Black Chinned Hummingbird

Hummingbirds of Miller Canyon

As I mentioned yesterday my trip to Miller Canyon (which is about 1 1/2 hours from us) was productive.  While there were not the number of hummingbirds as there are during the summer, it was wonderful to see (from the top): the male blue throat hummingbird, the male broad bill hummingbird, the female broad bill hummingbird eating, the calliope hummingbird in mid air, the magnificent hummingbird, and the white eared hummingbird. Miller Canyon is quite simply one of, if not, the best spot for hummers in the US.

black chin hummingbird

We will do one last photo before we leave Miller Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. This is the male black chin hummingbird. He is very similar to the ruby throat except that the black chin is found in the West and the ruby throat in the East. An interesting note: Of the 18 (U.S.) hummingbird species, only the ruby throat and the rufus are found in the East; while 17 of the 18 are found in the Southwest.

costa's hummingbird

Well let's leave the Huachuca Mountains for the moment and come back to The Azure Gate where a Costa's Hummingbird seems to want to perform. This is a male Costa's showing off. Our guests now are from Colorado Springs, Santa Fe, and San Francisco. They seem to be having fun sharing stories over breakfast (Southwest Salmon Benedict). All are headed to Sabino Canyon today for a hike.

rufus hummingbird

Here we have the Rufus Hummingbird, which is more common throughout the United States. The male is the top photo, the female the lower two. This is such a sweet little hummingbird I had to show you. Typically, at The Azure Gate B&B we get Anna's, Broad Tail, Broad Bill, Costa's, and Calliope. In the mountains ranges just to the South of us you can also find: Berylline, Black Chin, Blue Throat, Magnificent, Rufus, and White Eared for a total of 11 hummingbird species I have photographed in Southern Arizona. Last year there was talk that a Star Capped hummer was at Agua Caliente (about five miles from us) but I couldn't find him. As I am writing this the male and female Anna's are chasing each other about my office. I am sure they are just "playing."

Magnificent Hummingbird

Back to Miller Canyon in the Huachucas. The Magnificent Hummingbird -- aptly named -- is not as rare as the Berylline, White-eared or Blue Throat, but is certainly not common, and rare to the United States except for these southern most Arizona mountains. At 5 1/4 inches it is the largest of our hummers. It is a treat to see, although a little more cautious of people and thus a little harder to photograph.

blue throat hummingbird

And here is the third of the rare hummingbirds we found in Miller Canyon. These are the Blue Throat Hummingbird; male on left and female on right. While we have hummers that stay around The Azure Gate year round, the mountains attract hummers only in the summer months. I say that as I watch our Anna's Hummingbird sitting on a Palo Verde tree by my office. He's probably thinking I haven't come out to say "good morning" to him yet. Better do that.

white eared hummingbird

Here is a white eared hummingbird, which is rare in the United States. We've seen him two summers in a row at Miller Canyon in the Huachucas. To get to the hummingbird station at Beatty's Orchard (in Miller Canyon) you take a small hike up the canyon, across a stream, and up the hill where they have set up a small viewing tent. They have nine feeders hanging amongst the trees. So you just sit and watch as literally a hundred or more hummers fly around you. At times some will be less than three feet away from you. There are picnic tables at the trailhead, so take a lunch and have a great day.

berrylline hummingbird

One of the mountain ranges just to the south of us is the Huachucas. It is home to one of the older Army forts. Fort Huachuca has a fascinating Military Museum displaying its history going back to 1876 and the "Buffalo Soldiers." For the next few days we'll share with you some of our experiences in these wonderful mountains. Maybe the best hummingbird spot in the United States is Miller Canyon, where you'll find Beatty's Orchard. Christine and I visited there three weeks ago and found (this might be hard to imagine) but over 100 hummingbirds, including three very rare (to the US) species: the Berrylline (above) and .... well, let's wait til tomorrow for the others.

Hummingbird yawning

We have a resident pair of anna's hummingbirds. They hang out by my office most of the day. Sometimes they chase each other around, sometimes they drink from a couple of nearby feeders, but mostly they just sit and occasionally clean themselves. They don't mind me getting close enough for a photo, but they do sometimes become impatient when I have to clean and fill their feeders. They'll either sit on a tree branch pouting or they'll "buzz" me. I am looking at him now while I write this blog.