Posted by Jay Miller on September 27, 2010 at 9:13 PM
These images were shot this evening in backyard, Great Bend, Kansas
I apologize for the poor focus I was losing light.
Are these images a Calliope?
Posted by Jay Miller on September 27, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Second Hummingbird for ID.
Posted by Mia McPherson on September 28, 2010 at 6:55 AM
Jay,
I believe this is a young or female Rufous Hummingbird, but I am not strong in hummingbird ID.
The Calliope would have a thin white line over the gape, no rufous in the belly, and the wingtips would reach just beyond the tail. Calliope's don't exhibit this much rufous in their plumage. The Rufous hummingbird's tail projects slightly beyond the wings as shown here. The belly is rufous with some white at the neck.
Someone with more expertise with hummingbirds could give you a more definitive ID
Posted by Brian Gatlin on September 28, 2010 at 8:40 AM
Jay, it is indeed a Rufous: lots of rufous in the tail, quite a bit in the flanks, and some speckled into the upperparts. Tail and bill both look too long for Calliope. Not a bad bird to find in Kansas. Congrats.
It is most likely a Rufous Hummingbird based on location. But female and juvenile Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds are almost indistinguishable. Banders can usually distinguish between the two by the width and shape of tail feathers. Often hummingbirds such as these are simply referred to as Rufous/Allen's Hummingbirds or Selasphorus sp. For instance, the image that I recently posted in the Avian gallery looked similar to this bird. Before posting I sent the image to Sheri Williamson, the author of the Peterson Field Guide to Hummingbirds, and she stated that she could not determine if it was Rufous or Allen's even with some of the tail feathers showing.
Discussion
4 repliesI apologize for the poor focus I was losing light.
Are these images a Calliope?
I believe this is a young or female Rufous Hummingbird, but I am not strong in hummingbird ID.
The Calliope would have a thin white line over the gape, no rufous in the belly, and the wingtips would reach just beyond the tail. Calliope's don't exhibit this much rufous in their plumage. The Rufous hummingbird's tail projects slightly beyond the wings as shown here. The belly is rufous with some white at the neck.
Someone with more expertise with hummingbirds could give you a more definitive ID
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=156501&CGISESSID=ce26a3aa018502bde1e2138ab993a825&u=28281