ML618713944

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

BIRD DOCUMENTATION BY CHRIS and ROSIE HOWARD (C&RH) SPECIES Xantus's Hummingbird (Basilinna xantusii) DATES 25 Apr 2024, 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM. This documentation is based on this observeration. 27 Apr 2024, briefly observed for about 5-seconds at ~ 5:30 PM. LOCATION West Bishop neighborhood, Inyo County, California OBSERVERS Found by Diane Stevens and identified by Jon Dunn. Other observers present on 25 Apr 2024: Nancy Overholtz, Darrin Heindel, Kelli Heindel, and Jo Heindel. Other additional observers on 27 Apr 2024: Bob and Susan Steele, Bill Mitchell, and Forrest English. OPTICAL EQUIPMENT Swarovski CL pocket 8X25 binoculars (Chris), Swarovski 8.5x42 binoculars (Rosie). We photographed/videoed with our two Sony HX400V cameras. EXPERIENCE We have no experience with Xantus’s, despite looking for them casually in the Cabo San Lucas region of Baja California Sur. We have limited experience with other possible vagrants from trips to southeast Arizona. STATUS Inyo County’s first record. California’s second accepted record. The other currently accepted record by the California Bird Record Committee (CBRC) is a wintering female in Ventura County in 1988. A bird observed in San Diego County on 27 Dec 1986 was initially accepted (CBRC #1987-174), reevaluated and accepted in 2000 (CBRC #1987-174B), then finally revaluated and rejected in 2022 (CBRC #1987-174B). [Note: As of 26 Apr 2024, the CBRC website database erroneously still shows the San Diego record as accepted.] Outside California, there are no accepted United States records that we are aware of, however, there is an accepted 1997-1998 vagrant British Columbia, Canada record. HABITAT Suburban backyard with large lawn, ornamental shrubs on the fringe, and scattered larger trees. Three hummingbird feeders, two in the backyard, one in the front yard, all visible through windows from within the house. DISTANCE TO BIRD 20 feet. DURATION We spent two-and-a-half hours (5:30 PM to 8:00 PM), until dark, looking for the bird and saw it once for a total duration of 15 seconds. EASE OF OBSERVATION We looked for the bird from within the house, with birders assigned to watch each of the three feeders. The view we had was brief, yet close. The bird landed at the closest feeder to the house. Viewing conditions were good, though it was rather cramped with several birders elbow-to-elbow, vying for photo ops through the kitchen window. Story: At about 5:15 PM on 25 April 2024, Rosie was at home in Bishop when she received a text from Nancy Overholtz indicating she was at Diane Stevens’s house in West Bishop and was photographing a possible White-eared Hummingbird. She called Chris, who was in downtown Bishop at work. We both dropped everything at rendezvoused at Diane house at 5:25 PM. Jon Dunn opened the front door to welcome us in and said it’s a Xantus’s Hummingbird. We stationed ourselves at the kitchen window and at 5:40 PM the bird came in once for us where we obtained a video and some photos. The bird was not seen again that evening despite efforts from us and other birders who arrived later than we did. Backstory – Mid-afternoon on 25 Apr 2024, Diane was doing dishes at her kitchen window and saw a hummingbird at her feeder with a red bill. She called Nancy to come over and photograph it. Nancy arrived and saw the hummingbird and photographed it. Shortly after 5:00 PM, Nancy contacted Jon who was having dinner at Thai-Thai restaurant at the Bishop Airport with Jo, Kelli, and Darrin Heindel. Nancy relayed what she had seen, and Jon was puzzled because the marks did not add up to White-eared Hummingbird. Jon and the Heindels abandoned their table at Thai-Thai and headed to Diane’s house where Jon and the Heindels all saw the bird and Jon identified it as a Xantus’s. Description: This hummingbird was larger than we expected (though not huge), perhaps similar to an Anna’s (also present). When the bird flew into the feeder, the buffy underparts, from the throat to the vent, were obvious and extensive. The head was quite dark, making the bold, bright white stripe behind the eye really contrast. While the head was generally blackish, the throat was mottled with scaly greenish-blue feathers. The bill was broad-based and red-based, abruptly changing to black about halfway toward the tip. Conclusion and comparison with similar species: Obviously, this species was not on the likely list of vagrant hummingbirds to Inyo County for any of the observers. During the initial finding, fleeting observations, and identification process, two other similar species were considered, Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) and White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis). Ultimately, the plumage characteristics were definitively Xantus’s, specifically the 1) speckly greenish throat, which would be black in White-eared Hummingbird, and 2) the extensively buffy underparts, not shown on either White-eared Hummingbird or Broad-billed Hummingbird. Referring to the images and text in Birds of the World (https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/xanhum), this bird is a male Xantus’s Hummingbird, based on the speckly green throat and black on the head. A female would show buffy extending up into the throat and less black on the head. Photos: Online access to all photos/videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fqy3XT78SMK2KRHy9 Direct link to video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qo8opnhmX23tGhmh9

Technical information

Model

DSC-HX400V

Lens

2254417/524283-215mm f/2.8-6.3

ISO

200

Focal length

93.8 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/250 sec

Dimensions

1986 pixels x 1832 pixels

Original file size

736.89 KB