ML242158031

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

***mega; im female; first record for Baja California Peninsula, though now known to be casual in s. MX-BCS. Photos and notes archived with Dick Erickson; notes and sketches archived in personal Baja folder. Primary shape, tail motion, clean white throat, short bill, dark mask, and bright green upperparts all key field marks. Original notes send to Dick Erickson: Aapparent HY female This bird flew into some Nics [=Nicotiana] in front of me and fed for 10 seconds, during which time it was calling (=Archilochus) and was brilliant grass-green on the back and had a strongly contrasting face, with a prominent dark mask, both marks I associate with Ruby-throats. It then disappeared and caused me 15 minutes of agony while I tried to relocate it, eventually reappearing in the same bush I'd seen it initially. It only gave a 10 sec look again before it left and I left to get a scope and camera. When I returned and had my scope set up and camera ready, I touched a bit of Black-chinned Hummingbird tape and the bird zipped in immediately and gave a vigorous response, and perched within 15 ft. Over the next hour the bird gave repeated long (up to 5 min) scope views at <25 ft. I took about 20 flash photos, hopefully which will show the details of wing pattern as well as shape and back color (I never know how my flash photos will turn out). The points that make me think Ruby-throated are as follows: 1)BRIGHT grass-green back; 2) fairly short bill (about head length); 3) in about 40-50 feeding bouts observed the tail was only quivered and never wagged (in fact, at no point did the bird do more than a half flip of the tail); 4) dark mask around eyes with sharp contrast; 5) bright green crown (fairly dull, flat-colored forehead). 6) most importantly, of course, I had long studies of the wing shape. On all occasions I judged p10 to be very narrow and had a very narrow, rounded tip. p9 was significantly wider and about the same length with a slightly beveled inner web. p8 and p7 were similar in width, but at (I think) p6 the primary shape changed drastically and the remaining inner primaries were all about the same width and were very narrow, about half the width of p7. I saw no noticeable notching on the primaries. I aged it as a HY by the extensive buff fringing to upperparts feathers and sexed it as a female by the largely unmarked throat. The outermost rectrix was smoothly rounded at the tip, not nipple shaped (as on ad female Black-chinned). I still have not had a chance to hit the books hard on this bird, but have several pages of notes and should be getting slides back by Friday. Reviews of Howell and Williamson seem to have allayed my concerns about the lack of notching on the inner primaries, tail length vs. wingtips (wings fell just about 5 mm short of tail), and underparts coloration (bird was dingy gray below, with fairly strong buff wash on the flanks, and a clean white throat and central upper breast, with faint dusky streaks on the central throat -- I had expected a Ruby to be cleaner white), all of which are typical or within the range of variation of HY female Ruby-thrtd. [Note: these written before photos came back; the images confirmed the ID, I believe, and Erickson has those slides]

Technical information

Model

iPhone 8

Lens

iPhone 8 back camera 3.99mm f/1.8

ISO

40

Focal length

4 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/1.8

Shutter speed

1/17 sec

Dimensions

4032 pixels x 3024 pixels

Original file size

2.63 MB