Hummingbird ID help, Larimer

[David Wade]

Yesterday (Aug 30), I went to W Lake St in Fort Collins to get some photographs of a Calliope Hummingbird first reported by N Komar that has been around for the last week. There were several Hummers zipping around and feeding off a healthy clump of pinkish orange Agastache flowers. While shooting a perched Calliope, I heard the distinctive wing buzz of a Broad-tail over my left shoulder. I turned to the sound and saw nothing of course, returning to the Calliope I found it was replaced by a different bird. I saw a red throat and assumed that the new bird was a male Broad-tailed because this and the trill that preceded its arrival. I shot 3 pics before it flew away. After reviewing the photos I'm not convinced its a Broad-tailed and think it could be a Ruby-throated instead or  maybe a hybrid of. I do not see any rufous anywhere, the wingtips are straight and narrow (eliminates Black-chinned), and bill is straighter and not too curved. I can see the slightest light/white under the chin only after extreme magnification. The white line on a Broad-tailed that starts at the chin goes through the eye and continues around the back edge of the gorget is indistinct to absent. Lastly, it seems slimmer than most Broad-tails that I have seen. I have never seen a Ruby-throated before so I am asking anybody with knowledge to help me identify this puzzler (at least to me).

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122221383@N05/15094808681/

            https://www.flickr.com/photos/122221383@N05/14911128169/

            https://www.flickr.com/photos/122221383@N05/15097807145/

David Wade

Fort Collins, CO