This morning, we saw two hummingbirds visiting our feeder that look different than the usual
Ruby-throated and
Black-chinned species. I watched these two birds feed for several hours as they showed up alternately every 15 minutes.
This first bird has a solid green back, rufous flanks, and chin stripes. It also has several red-orange gorget feathers. I think that this is a female or juvenile
Rufous Hummingbird. The thing that has me puzzled is that it has the beginnings of dark throat feathers but has not yet developed brown in the tail.
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Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 330mm, f/10, 1/500 sec, ISO-800, Flash |
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Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 200mm, f/10, 1/500 sec, ISO-800, Flash |
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Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 330mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO-800, Flash |
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Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 260mm, f/10, 1/500 sec, ISO-800, Flash |
The second bird has a very pale wash of light brown on the flanks but not nearly as pronounced. It has several red gorget feathers. I am not sure if this another
Rufous or a sub-adult
Ruby-throated which did not get around to migrating.
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Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 220mm, f/10, 1/500 sec, ISO-800, Flash |
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Canon 7DII, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS - 330mm, f/10, 1/500 sec, ISO-800, Flash |
Update 2014-11-26 - Danielle got a video which, though blurry, caught the tail feathers fanned out. These have rufous bases with white-tipped, black ends. The outer feathers don't look very narrow. This further confirms this as a rufous.
Update 2015-01-31 - What may be still the first of the hummingbirds above is still visiting the feeder. If it is, its plumage has not changed significantly.
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