Howdy ya’ all! I have to say, it feels like a stress weight has been lifted as of noon today. Got through the anniversary celebration event earlier in the week and that all went very well beyond a bit of a let down on our chosen fancy pants dinner location – a LOT of dollars for a mediocre experience which is disappointing when you are ordering “market” priced entrees. Beyond that, a great day just confirming why we both said “I do”. That only left today’s physical to get through and then it was days primarily filled with training and prepping for the haunted trail (that is actually coming at bullet train speed). Didn’t know what to expect at the doctor’s office – late start to training, pushing to the edge in our humidity trying to get caught up, just got back from 2 months living in a tin can and in a battle since January to cut the weight from the sedentary ankle recovery months. A bit shocked, but every diagnostic test indicator came in excellent (some cases better than my peak performance years) and weight was 8 pounds less than last year – apparently rucking mountains, daily core work and limiting yourself to only two if not one meal a day is the ticket – a bit of work, but rewarding! Which brings us to today’s featured feathered friend.
Hopefully you have picked up on my featured theme as of late – Hummers. Like the last several training months, this purple chinned beauty comes with a bit of work. Hit the jump to read about the latest in this rocket-propelled series.
Unlike the last two Hummingbird posts, our friend here is not a new addition to the life list. In fact, I have pretty much been checking this Pixie Stik guzzling bird off my annual list ever since we started heading out west for winters and springs.
Now for the admission, this particular Hummingbird is one that causes me a LOT of issues in the identification phase. As a result, it is rarely featured here at Intrigued. Consider this a special treat at the expense of a lot of digital capital expended on our trip to southeastern Arizona last year – yes, the incredibly productive excursion that has brought you the last three Hummer posts.
I find that the Black-Chinned Hummingbird species, you see before you, can channel their evil inner LGJ (Little Green Jobber) or in special situations/conditions take mercy on your soul, lift their chins and show you their goods – that beautiful purple gorget. Catch that iridescent blow torch and you are “almost” good to go in the US.
You do have to do a quick validation with another of their family, the Costa’s Hummingbird, if you happen to be standing in the far southwest (southern Nevada, down to western Arizona and then across southern California). In that case, you need to take a better look at the gorget and head coloring. Even if the purple gorget of the Costa’s isn’t showing, you will notice that those feathers flare out to the sides of the neck – I always liken it to the executioner hood of olden times (Ron can confirm, my 7th grade teacher was “concerned” about my horror literature interest and felt obligated to inform my parents).
If you happen to see any of the purple coloring on top of the head you can immediately switch to the Costa’s ID. The other methods to distinguish the Black-Chinned from the Costa’s are relative and you already know how I feel about those, but for completeness, the Costa’s is smaller (wings just barely beyond tail) and tends to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame when perched versus the straighter posture of the Black-Chinned (link here). In summary, catch a glimpse of that purple constrained tight against the throat and not extending over the head, you can put the reference books aside and confidently check the BC species off your list!
If you have spent any time on this blog or at the Hummingbird feeders outside the Midwest, you know there are plenty of conditions that can cause you to rip your hair out. No different here and the reason I have a folder simply called Hummer Hell that fills up every trip with females and non-displaying males. I’ve said it with LBJ (Little Brown Jobbers) and the same goes for these aerial acrobats – “LIFE IS TOO SHORT” ha! The females, immatures and gorget hiding males can look very similar in their metallic shades of greens, browns, greys and whites.
Typically, it is the Anna’s (link here), the Ruby-Throated (link here) and Black-Chinned that give me the most trouble in the field and in the digital darkroom. See that rose-pink color blast out of the top of the head, no problem Anna’s. See the red constrained to the throat – Ruby or Broad-Tailed depending on the zipcode where you are standing.
Females/immatures ugh, but let me try to help you just a bit. Female Black-Chinned will have an all-white throat where Anna’s females will have a very small “blackish” patch that will go red in the right light. Cornell says Anna’s are “plumper” than the slender BCs – good luck on that being ANY help. Now for female BCs vs female Rubies. See that ‘Delete’ key just to the right of the enter button on your keyboard…don’t hesitant to use it in this situation…remember, LIFE IS SHORT.
I won’t leave you completely hanging. This situation is going to happen at the eastern end of the Black-Chin’s western breeding range and conversely the western edge of the Ruby’s eastern range..I’ll wait if you want to read and decipher that again ha – long winded way to simply say the dividing line between the east and west of the US during breeding season. Both females have white throats so no help there. The best technique you have (in my opinion of course) is to get shots of the specimen perched and zoom in on the tail and end of the wings. If the tail extends significantly beyond the wings it is most likely a Ruby (sorry for the relative, but is is very distinguishable). If they are about equal or wings extend only slightly beyond, declare it a Black-Chinned, stand confidently and dare ANYONE to challenge you. Maybe a good time to remind you about that delete key feature or make your own Hummer Hell folder.
Hopefully you were able to take away something to help you in the field and if nothing else, enjoyed seeing some shots of the Black-Chinned Hummingbird which doesn’t get a chance to really shine here at Intrigued – evil bastards I tell ya’! Joking of course, they can really brighten your day when they reveal their incredible beauty. So very thankful these specimens (first images were from Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon, AZ and the latter from Paton Hummingbird Center in Pantagonia, AZ) were gracious enough to give me some glimpse of their royal embellishments. Across the two series I probably took 500+ shots to get ones I was confident enough to show you.
Take care everyone, depending on how things go in the digital darkroom (delete key at the ready), there will likely be at least one more entry in the Hummingbird series coming you way.
Wildlife Intrigued 