Having just reviewed the photos and the various resources this afternoon with
Lee Ann van Leer, I feel some confidence in calling Marty's bird a hatch-year,
or young female (hatched this year). Lee Ann and I agree.
Hatch-year males and female Rufous Hummingbirds are very similar, and both look
pretty much like adult females. But the great photos that Jay posted (e.g.,
https://plus.google.com/photos/37855303614931880/albums/5787306381681058289/5800340308927234226)
show the tail well enough to distinguish them. Other parts of the plumage can
help, but for Rufous/Allen's hummingbirds, it's all about the tail. Adult male
Rufous have pointy rufous and black tail feathers, and that's obviously not
what we're talking about here. The shiny green inner two sets of tail feathers
rule out immature male, which has rufous at the base of them and pointy black
tips. The very rounded nature of all of the tail feathers suggest that the bird
is an immature and not an adult female, which has more pointy ones. The
relatively broad outer tail feather is good for both female and the species ID
of Rufous rather than Allen's.
The basic field guides (Sibley, National Geographic) don't contain enough
information for aging and sexing hummingbirds. Lee Ann was looking at Peter
Pyle's Identification Guide, Part 1 (Slate Creek Press; the bible for banders).
My copy is at work, so I was looking primarily at Sheri Williamson's
Hummingbird guide in the Peterson series (especially plates 24 and 25), and
Steve Howell's Hummingbirds of North America.
I would also point interested folks to some old web pages on Rufous Hummingbird
ID I still have at my Bad Photos of Good Birds site:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/rufous_hummingbird.htm
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/selashum02.htm
Best,
Kevin
From: bounce-69406389-3493...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-69406389-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
nutter.d...@me.com
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2012 12:23 PM
To: Nancy W Dickinson
Cc: Donna Lee Scott; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird/Sweazey Screech Owl not
Sibley gives dates only for the juvenile female plumage (like this bird) from
June through November, and the subadult male plumage (similar to this bird
except some rufous on the head and more red in the lower part of the throat)
from August through December. We are in a period of overlap. If juvenile males
and females are similar, maybe this could be a young male which has not yet
begun to change to the subadult plumage. Actual information from more
knowledgeable sources is welcome.
--Dave Nutter
On Oct 26, 2012, at 09:50 PM, Nancy W Dickinson
n...@cornell.edumailto:n...@cornell.edu wrote:
Donna and all,
I assumed it to be a young male, but after seeing it, posting, and THEN
reviewing Jay's posts as well as the Sibley Guide, I thought it was a female.
But, at what point do they look different? Whichever, it is very Rufous!
Nancy Dickinson
From:
bounce-69402010-3493...@list.cornell.edumailto:bounce-69402010-3493...@list.cornell.edu
[bounce-69402010-3493...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Donna Scott
[d...@cornell.edu]
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 7:29 PM
To: Candace Cornell; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird/Sweazey Screech Owl not
So, is there now a MALE RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD at Schlabach's house on Powell Rd.,
Interlaken?
The last two people posting about the bird called it he and a stunning male.
Also, so far, no Screech Owl in the usual tree on Sweazey Rd., Lansing.
thanks,
Donna Scott
Lansing
- Original Message -
From: Candace Cornellmailto:cec...@gmail.com
To: cayugabirds-lmailto:cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 6:09 PM
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird plus Muckland highlights
Nancy Ostman and I enjoyed a number of excellent views of the Rufous
Hummingbird at the Schlabach home between 9:40-10:50 am. today. It is a
stunning male, especially when the sunlight catches it just right. Many thanks
to Marty and Mary Jean for opening their yard to birders!
We headed to Knox-Marcellus where there were thousands of Canada Geese, some
Cackling Geese, 30+ Green-winged Teal, 17 Sandhill Cranes, 37 Great Blue Herons
together in a group in the grass, and a lone Bald Eagle perched in a tree top.
As soon as we got there we were treated to a spectacular murmuration of
starlings undulated across the marsh. Along the towpath, Fox and White-Crowned
sparrows bathed in the puddles and foraged in the weeds. Another thousand or so
Canada Geese also dominated the water into Puddler's Marsh. There they were
joined by 150+ Snow Geese, more Cackling Geese, 20+ Northern Shovelers, 10+
Double-crested Cormorants, and numerous gulls. Two large plovers and a handful
of peeps were too far away to ID. However, a flock of 25+ Pipits combed the
water's edge up-close, affording terrific views
