[texbirds] Re: Blucher Park, Corpus
- From: Graham Floyd <spcgraham.floyd@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Matt Heindel <mtheindel@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 07:16:01 -0500
I want to thank Matt Heindel for his reply. A lot of information packed in
there that I probably wouldn't have gotten had my post not been so terribly
vague.
The bird in question was a male, and it's back was green, with the back of
its tail rufous creeping slightly up into the lower-back. Like in the
Sibley illustration of male Allen's & the green-backed Rufous male.
Questions I have that may not have answers (yet), are:
-Do these 5% of green-backed Rufous males occur in a particular geographic
area, or are they equally likely to occur anywhere? I think I saw a video
pointing out they follow the same migration routes year after year, so even
in migration do they occur on certain routes and not others?
-While several Allen's and numerous Rufous were being banded last winter at
a private-Houston residence (the Williams perhaps?), there was some comment
regarding the molt phase of Allen's and Rufous Hummingbirds allowing
easy visual (vs in-hand) separation at that particular time-of-year. My
question thus becomes: Are there seasons when only Allen's have green-backs?
Thanks Matt for sharing your knowledge. This is why texbirds as a forum
can never be replaced despite the plethora of other sites.
Graham Floyd,
San Antonio
On Monday, August 26, 2013, Matt Heindel wrote:
> 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<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> '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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