Today, November 18, the bird appeared as usual at 0710 to feed at the backyard feeders. The exact identity of this bird is still unknown however many excellent photos have been taken that should help with identification. The homeowner welcomes all visitors (about 140 so far), please be sure to sign the guest book if you plan to visit.
NB: to Jean Iron....I plan to send you a note to have this homeowner recognized by OFO for a Certificate of Appreciation. She has gone overboard to welcome birders to her home. Directions: Take the QEW to the Thorold Stone Road exit in Niagara Falls. Now turn left (east) to Dorchester Road, then right (south) one block to Pettit Avenue. Take a left here and continue for about 1/2 km to Sherwood Road (directly across from First Baptist Church on the right hand side). Turn left and proceed one block to Peach Street to 4579, the second or third house on your right. Kayo Kayo Roy 13 Kinsman Court Fonthill, ON L0S 1E3 [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Nov 18 11:06:41 2004 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from sccrmhc12.comcast.net (sccrmhc12.comcast.net [204.127.202.56]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E482648A50 for <[email protected]>; Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:06:40 -0500 (EST) Received: from pavilion (bgp980867bgs.gardnc01.mi.comcast.net[68.42.240.194]) by comcast.net (sccrmhc12) with SMTP id <20041118160731012009ctabe>; Thu, 18 Nov 2004 16:07:31 +0000 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Allen Chartier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> References: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Ontbirds]selasphorus hummingbird in Niagara Falls -photos Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:10:55 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1437 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441 X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 16:06:41 -0000 Harold and others, Nice photos! Thanks for posting them! I've been given permission from ONTBIRDS listowner Mark Cranford to post the following ID discussion/opinion of the Niagara Falls hummingbird. So, I guess I'll stick my neck way out and give my current opinion on this bird. I've looked at a LOT of hummingbird photos over the years, and one thing I've learned is that they can either be extremely diagnostic, or extremely misleading, so please excuse my tendency to avoid solid proclamations! I should also preface my opinions with the fact that I have limited relatively experience with Rufous Hummingbirds in-hand, having banded a total of 24 in the Upper Midwest over the past 4 years, and examined about 35 more in Louisiana in February 2003. I have examined three Allen's Hummingbirds in-hand, and no Broad-tailed (though I have measured and identified museum specimens). I have field experience with all three species. First, with the bird shows peach-buff flanks and extensively rufous-based tail feathers, so one certainty is that the bird is a Selasphorus hummingbird. There are three species in this genus north of Mexico, Broad-tailed, Rufous, and Allen's, all of which have a pattern of vagrancy to the east to varying degrees. So initially all should be considered. In my opinion, the bird is probably not a Broad-tailed, and the good shot of the fanned tail provides at least three clues to me. First, the shapes of the tips of the outer tail feathers should be blunter in Broad-tailed, while the bird in the photo shows more tapered tail tips, which is more consistent with Rufous/Allen's. Second, the amount of rufous on the outer three tail feathers is about equal to the amount of black, where Broad-tailed tends to have more black and less rufous. Third is the amount of tapering on the tail. I believe the photo is potentially misleading in this regard, as it appears that there isn't much difference between the central and outer tail feather. But, the bird is clearly in molt. The blurred wing shows a gap, which I believe is probably p7 (or p8), where the bird is growing in that feather. It also appears that the second rectrix from the center (r2) is missing (or hidden?). Also, p1 might be growing in and would thus appear shorter. This would be consistent with molting Rufous Hummingbirds I've banded over the past three years in the Upper Midwest. What I've found is that the inner primaries are molted starting with p1, then "suspended" at either p7 or p8 by October or November, then resumed in January or February. Also, tail molt seems to progress from r1 to r2, then skipping to r5, then sometimes being suspended at that point, or sometimes completing with the molt of r3 and r4. But, r1 and r2 always seem to be molted first, and r3 and r4 always seem to be molted last. In addition, the apparent width of r5 does not seem broad enough for Broad-tailed, but this is somewhat subjective. None of this unusual molt sequence/strategy has been documented in the ornithological literature (yet), and what is published (Birds of North America life history, and Pyle 1997) seems to be erroneous or incomplete. The rather plain face might suggest Broad-tailed, as it appears to lack rufous tones, but in one photo it appears to have some pinfeathers on the head and down the back. Body molt seems to coincide with flight feather molt in Rufous Hummingbirds, and could account for the apparent paleness of the face. But, what I see here is not out of the range of variation I have seen in Rufous. The apparent complete lack of iridescent gorget feathers occurs more often in juvenile male Rufous, but this condition could also be present in adult or juvenile females as well. The number and distribution of iridescent gorget feathers is an extremely variable character that is, at best, only suggestive of one sex over another, and seems less useful (or not at all useful) for aging these birds in the field. Thus, I believe the bird is probably a Rufous OR Allen's Hummingbird. To identify which of these two it is requires a good look at the shape of r2, which is "notched" in Rufous and narrower and not notched in Allen's. Unfortunately, r2 is either missing or hidden in the tail shot! Lacking this most diagnostic character, we're left with assessing the width of r5. While it would probably be easy to distinguish a broader r5 of a Broad-tailed from the much narrower r5 of an Allen's, distinguishing between Rufous and Allen's is more difficult. The measured widths of r5 in Rufous and Allen's actually overlap each other, so sometimes the only way of untangling and ID is to first correctly age and sex the bird, then use long-established in-hand criteria (Stiles 1972) to determine the species. Assuming this bird is a Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird, it is clear that it is not an adult male as it lacks any rufous on the back, and does not have a full orange-red gorget. Juvenile male can also be eliminated, as they will usually show some rufous on the upper tail coverts, and sometimes even up onto the rump. Also, the central rectrix (r1) has more rufous at the base in immature males than in females of any age, and this will usually be visible beyond the tips of the upper tail coverts. The Niagara Falls bird appears to be all-green from crown to tail, which suggests to me the bird is a female. In-hand, we use a 10x magnifier to examine the bill for "corrugations", which are tiny wrinkles on the surface of the maxilla that only juvenile (hatch year) birds show. By November or December, these corrugations can be quite subtle and difficult to see, so great care must be taken to be sure if the bird has them or not. This is the single most reliable character for aging all hummingbirds (Ortiz-Crespo 1972). Plumage patterns are more variable, and have some degree of uncertainty as a result. Thus, I cannot venture an age on this bird because I cannot examine the bill. However, if r2 was visible (it's not), it tends to be more "notched" in adult females and less so (or annoyingly often) not notched at all in juvenile females. Juvenile female Rufous/Allen's that show little or no notch in r2 are essentially not field-identifiable, and species ID must be confirmed with measurements. I suspect the Niagara Falls bird is an adult based on the active body and flight feather molt, but I do not have much data on the molt of juvenile females to be able to adequately defend my suspicion. So, IF this bird is an adult female, according to Stiles (1972) it should have a measured width of r5 between 2.0-3.0 mm in Allen's (both races combined), and between 2.8-4.0 mm in Rufous. Also, it should have a measured width of r1 between 6.0-7.9 mm in Allen's (both races combined) and between 7.5-8.7 mm in Rufous. If it is a juvenile female, it should have a measured width of r5 between 2.3-3.3 mm in Allen's (both races combined), and between 3.2-4.7 mm in Rufous. Also, it should have a measured width of r1 between 6.9-8.4 mm in Allen's (both races combined) and between 7.8-9.5 mm in Rufous. Evaluating tail feather widths in the field, or in photos, on such a small scale can be a considerable challenge (or impossible). I should note that for in-hand diagnosis the wing chord, culmen, and tail length are also factored in, particularly where measurements of r1 and r5 are ambiguous or "on the fence," as occasionally occurs. I would be happy to see additional photos of this bird, especially any that might show conclusively what's going on with the tail, and especially what r2 looks like :-) References: McKenzie, P.M., and M.B. Robbins. 1999. Identification of adult male Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds, with specific comments on dorsal coloration. Western Birds 30: 86-93. Ortiz-Crespo, F.I. 1972. A new method to separate immature and adult hummingbirds. Auk 89: 851-857. Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds: Part 1. Slate Creek Press, CA. Stiles, F.G. 1972. Age and Sex Determination in Rufous and Allen Hummingbirds. The Condor 74: 25-32. Allen Chartier [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1442 West River Park Drive Inkster, MI 48141 Website: http://www.amazilia.net Michigan HummerNet: http://www.amazilia.net/MIHummerNet/index.htm
