ML257887381

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The hummingbirds at this location are attracted to a large mimosa tree. Today I was harvesting blossoms here for my wife who uses them for making herbal medicine. I’ve been keeping an eye on the hummers here on and off for the last few weeks, there have been at least a few rufous/Allen’s female types here along with Anna’s each time we’ve come to pick. Today as I began harvesting I noticed a distinctly different hummingbird sound that seemed to come from what at first appeared to be a female Anna’s. I heard this as a kind of “chimp” call, which immediately reminded me of the sounds we heard from BCHU a few months back on the RROS Fresno county field trip. As I observed the hummer at this tree, I realized that the bird making this unusual sound had a preferred perch on a fence that it would retire to after being harassed by the rufous/Allen’s birds that were defending “their” tree. I took lots of photos and managed audio recordings as well. This bird had a longer and more downturned bill than the nearby Anna’s which I was able to observe simultaneously. It had more distinctly dark lores than the Anna’s and it had the gray crown and white/gray underparts expected for BCHU. The throat was without the expected iridescent flecks or central red spot of female ANHU. The back was a uniform green. Tail slightly longer than wingtips.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

ISO

100

Focal length

247 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/125 sec

Dimensions

4608 pixels x 3456 pixels

Original file size

6.71 MB