[Umpqua Birds] Bonnie's Calypte Hummingbird
- From: Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2013 16:52:59 -0700
HI Folks,
Been out camping...
For Bonnie and anyone else interested in identifying, learning about, and
understanding Calypte hummingbirds (Calypte is the genus of Anna's and
Costa's hummingbirds), at the end of this email I have pasted some replies
from others on these photos:
http://www.jbranchmurraygreys.com/00r13bird/08costas1.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewghunter/sets/72157634345525563/
And, right up front, I should tell you, the bird I photographed sang the
distinctive grating/spitting Anna's song. Therefore, while it could be a
hybrid, it is not a Costa's Hummingbird.
Also, The journal article (Wells, Shirley; Richard A. Bradley; and Luis F.
Baptista. 1978. Hybridization in Calypte Hummingbirds.The Auk Vol. 95, No.
3 (Jul., 1978), pp. 537-549) mentions that of the purported hybrids they
measured which sang, all sang the Anna's song.
My conclusions from this experience are: 1) I have a lot to learn about
these hummingbirds: what they look like normally and can look like,
when/how they molt, etc. 2) Bonnie's photos (taken on sunny day) look more
like Costa's than my photos do (taken on cloudy day), but even hers show
qualities of both species. 3) Field guides are poor on separating these
species, except for individuals at either extreme. 4) Field guides have not
prepared us for the high rate of hybridization of Anna's with other species
(there are journal articles describing hybridization with other species as
well). 5) More personal field study of these hummingbirds will help me a
lot.
Want to make a contribution to the field of ornithology? Study, photograph,
and/or sketch/draw/paint the Anna's Hummingbirds at your feeder, noting
time, date, anything else, and then share with others.
Have fun and look closely at those hummingbirds!
All the Best,
Matt Hunter
Melrose, OR
From Paul Sullivan:
You didn't mention what I look for to distinguish Anna's from Costa's
Hummingbird. Crown and gorget color can change with lighting. Gorget
corner shape can change with posture of the bird. I'm not sure about wing
vs. tail length.
What I look for is the front of the bird.
Anna's have a complete gray-green front.
Costa's have a white necktie down the middle of the breast, or else their
vest is unbuttoned and you see the white shirt.
Based on this criteria, I'd call your bird an Anna's.
My two cents... (you get what you pay for...)
From Larry McQueen:
Interesting bird that on first impression of first photos appears as a
hybrid Anna's/Costa's.
For one thing, Sibley is not illustrating any male Anna's I have seen!
They do have an ear patch separated from the crown, and the crown is
not nearly so extensive as illustrated. I am not so sure about
Costa's concerning this detail. Many aspects of this bird look more
like Anna's, and the gorget is more like Costa's in shape and color.
Anna's is darker below than Costa's, and these photos look too dark
for Costa's. There should be more white around the gorget and breast
in Costa's than this bird has. The bill also looks like Anna's. Your
photos look normal for Anna's, but if the bird is actually smaller
than other male Anna's as perceived, then I would suspect a hybrid.
However, we all know how subjective is the perception of size.
From Dave Irons:
My first reaction to the homeowner's photos was like Larry's (Anna's X
Costa's). After looking at Matt's photos (presuming it's the same
bird), I'm not so sure. The purplish/violet hues in the gorget
(apparent in the homeowner's images) are not a good fit for a pure
Anna's in my opinion, but the coloration of the underparts (dingy with
little white) better fits Anna's. The gorget shape does seem to
suggest Costa's, as Larry points out. It's important to remember that
the intensity and color of iridescence is extremely plastic and highly
dependent on feather wear.
and
While doing some research on hummer hybridization a few years back I
found one reference that described Anna's Hummingbirds as
"promiscuous," pointing out that they have been known to hybridize
with virtually all of the species with shared breeding ranges.
From Lars Norgren:
A thread on this subject a few years
ago revealed that hybridization between
Anna's and Costa's is unusually common.
Some graduate student studying the two
in southern California found something
like 30% hybrids. That is the heart of
both species' range. Oregon is clearly
at the fringe of Costa's occurrence, and
then there are the back-crosses, as
opposed to "pure" hybrids.
I suspect birds like the one under
discussion will become a lot more frequent
here. I consider myself a total novice
on the whole hummingbird family. Dave and
Larry have written exactly what I was tempted
to opine last night.
From David Fix:
This bird looks to me like an Anna's Hummingbird. Perhaps, as was
postulated for the bird Roberson addresses, it is a hybrid or backcross
with Costa's, but I see nothing that is not typical of Anna's. Maybe if
someone were to look at or try to measure niceties of the wing and tail
relationship there might be a case made for some hanky panky. Just looking
at the way the bird appears, I don't see anything out of the normal range
for Anna's. The gorget, for example, looks spot-on in shape. But
hummingbirds are a group with which I have little expertise.
From Elva Paulson:
I don't pretend to be an expert on hummers .... but looking at the photos
taken by Bonnie and Matt ... and looking at several published photos, I
lean towards calling this an Anna's. I don't think the 'tails' on the side
of his gorget are long enough to be a Costa's and I think the lower edge in
the front section of his gorget is too even to be a Calliope.
I photoed some Ann'a last winter in my yard ... the changing colors of the
gorget were awesome! I don't know if my photos will help, but they can be
seen on my blog. Be sure to scroll through to the last two photos:
http://elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/winter-hummers.html
Other related posts:
- » [Umpqua Birds] Bonnie's Calypte Hummingbird - Matthew G Hunter
