[texbirds] Re: Blucher Park, Corpus
- From: Matt Heindel <mtheindel@xxxxxxx>
- To: Texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, spcgraham.floyd@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 06:04:49 -0500
I have read this email a few times and can only assume the choice of English
was not the best as the question does not make sense. (How would anyone be able
to tell whether your green-backed bird was one or the other based on what is
written?)
So, I can imagine other questions that perhaps were meant. 1) Has anyone else
seen a green-backed Selasphorus at Blucher and if so, what did they think it
was? Well, again we'll assume you must be referring to an ad male, as all
Allen's and all female Rufous (and im male) have green backs "just like the
book." If it was not an ad male, forget about it with this level of detail. We
were at Blucher and had heard of a detail-less report, so gave it a little
time, but had no Selasphorus at all. I have not heard of other sightings, so
for now, question 1 seems to be no.
2) Perhaps you are asking if you had an ad male Rufous/Allen's with an all
green back, can you call it an Allen's? Well, you can call it anything you
want, but
..There are several issues: first, given the "hot, tired" no picture
thing, it is important to be confident that the back is 100% green. Not 90%
green, which can look pretty darn green in many views. That is another level of
detail missing. But, even if the back was 100% green, you enter another zone.
Some people feel that the % of green-backed ad male Rufous is so low that it is
safe to call something like this an Allen's. I understand that at some level,
as data would seem to suggest we are talking a very small number (<5%). But, it
feels funky to me. I could not imagine making up a checklist of stuff I was 95%
sure of. What value is in that? The fact Allen's is more numerous in TX than
was once thought (based on banding data) can argue for or against the notion of
counting 95%+ certainty birds. On the one hand, since we know they are a
regular part of our avifauna, perhaps making a mistake here or there is not a
big deal. I take the other route, however, as even when birders think they are
not making mistakes, some are creeping in. Why lower the bar intentionally?
And, since Allen's are regular enough, why not wait until one is seen well
enough to eliminate the doubt?
Matt Heindel
Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
On Aug 25, 2013, at 3:59 PM, Graham Floyd <spcgraham.floyd@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hello texbirders,
> Last weekend at Blucher Park in Corpus Christi, I had a green-backed
> Selasphorus hummingbird. It looked just like the Sibley illustration of
> Allen's Hummingbird. I was too hot and miserable to pull out my camera,
> but the hummer was actively circling the TNC house visiting each feeder in
> the heat of the day. Is anyone able to tell whether this green-backed bird
> was a Rufous or Allen's?
>
> Graham Floyd,
> San Antonio, TX
>
>
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