The backyard has continued to be productive here, with daily appearances of
Dickcissel, up to five Baltimore Orioles at one time, an Orange-crowned Warbler
two days ago, an adult Chipping Sparrow today (first at the feeders here in
winter), 8 Purple Finches this morning (high count, ever), singing Red Fox
Sparrows (daily), 3 Pine Siskins yesterday (most this winter so far), and the
still-unidentified Archilochus hummingbird, which I've shot 3 rolls of film on
(but still can't identify!). I received a nice pep-talk from Susan Campbell in
North Carolina, who is licensed to band hummingbirds in Virginia now; I'll
digest parts of that here, for those struggling with
Black-chinned/Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds at their own feeders:
"It is pretty much impossible with females to know for sure (RTHU vs . BCHU)
until you have the bird in your hand. Even the most knowledgeable hummer
folks have been
fooled when trying to make this call in the field. A short-looking tail may
just indicate very worn tail tips. And tail-pumping may simply be due to windy
conditions. If you see its tail pump when perched (feeding or elsewhere),
that would be a lot more definitive. One thing that might help is to look at
the color of the head and nape--is it
iridescent or a dull green? Nape is the better indicator because the head
can get dirty during feeding even at this time of year. Of course, you have
to have good light to be able to see the true color. BCHU will not have any
noticeable iridescent green above the 'shoulders.' Also, another thing to
look for: Black-chinneds tend to droop their wings a bit when perched. But you
may still not be able to see the wing tips well enough to detect the shape of
p10. But you do see what is referred to as 'snowballs' or tufts of white
feathers from the side of the bird protruding
above the trailing edge of the wing. But if you can get a good view of p10
(hard to do), it will definitely look club-shaped. Unfortunately, it is
usually obscured on a sitting bird by the adjacent primaries which fold over
the outermost feather. As far as age, there will be at least some buffy
edging to the contour feathers on the dorsal surface if it is a HY. Again, not
easy to see."
So far, several of the characters of the bird here at the house appear to
favor Ruby-throated, including:
1) Lack of tail-pumping while feeding/hovering in place
2) Bright green color to the back
3) Rather clean white underparts
4) Distinct facial pattern
5) Bill not especially long-looking or decurved
Other features seem to suggest Black-chinned:
1) Appearance of p10 and apparently p9 wide at the tip, somewhat club-shaped
2) Drooping of wings while feeding
3) Lack of iridescence on crown in bright light
4) Wings fall just about 1 mm shy of tail tip
I have not been able to study the shapes of the tail feathers or their
lengths relative to one another. Inner primary shape has also been elusive.
I can find photographs of both species that match aspects of the backyard
bird, and so it's officially unidentified by me. But my suspicion is that this
is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, maybe an adult female. Man, these hummers are
hard!
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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