ML618645570

Age and sex

Adult Male - 1

Observation details

One, possibly two. Continuing adult male. Unfortunately closest views were more than 40 feet, too far for detailed binocular views, and typically brief as it repeatedly engaged in chasing other hummers. Tiny hummer with disproportionately short tail, diagnostic magenta-striped, and long flaring gorget feathers, short straight bill, dark green back and paler underparts. Given the harsh lighting and brief viewing opportunities I was not able to see the buff coloring on its flanks that is visible in the photos. Its soft tsip notes differed from Costa’s soft chips, the harder call notes of Anna’s, and from the high pitched squeaks and squeals of Allen’s-like hummers in the area. A 2nd short-tailed hummer of the same size with an apparently striped partially colored gorget perched momentarily within inches of the full adult male before they commenced a lengthy chase that had them rise high above before, bickering back and forth in one another’s face as they climbed, before breaking into a high speed chase from which only one, an adult male returned. Pugnacious behavior, many chases with other hummers. at least half a dozen power dive display flights. The dive-display flight path was broadly elliptical/near circular, starting with a slow ascent followed by the power dive that was accompanied by a soft chirp at the bottom of dive, followed without break by the ascent of the next dive. It repeatedly returned to perch in top branches of short, fire-killed trees at east end of the Yerba Santa colony (Eriodictyon crassifolium), or further back in the flowering tree tobacco. We never observed in feeding. Date is approaching latest date in OC for spring migration.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

80

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/320 sec

Dimensions

894 pixels x 1105 pixels

Original file size

102.9 KB